Big Hunter, Small World
by HaileeLovesBooks
Summary: Season 6 AU. Dean cosplays as Captain Hook at DisneyWorld, and Cas finds another way to fix Sam. Eventual Destiel, Deaged!Sam, and lots of angst. Rated for language. (Currently being rewritten... Will be cross-posted on AO3 under the same title when it's fixed!)
1. Off the Hook

Mandatory Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. I do own Tyler and Ron.

* * *

Dean felt a distinct sense of déjà vu as he watched an angry Lisa march away from his park bench, dragging a reluctant Ben. He let out a deep, shaky breath and dropped his head into his hands. He could still see the look in her eyes, but as much as it haunted him, he couldn't take his words back.

"Hey, uh," a hesitant voice startled Dean out of his pity party. He looked up to see Peter Pan, who was apparently on break, holding out a piece of pie. "I don't know what you got yourself into, man, but I remember you talking about this pie earlier, and I figured it might help a little."

The man had a slightly awkward air that reminded Dean of Castiel, but considering the circumstances, he figured that was appropriate. He smiled ruefully and accepted the pie, but just to be safe, he muttered, "You're an angel," and watched for a reaction.

Peter Pan laughed. Yeah, not an angel then. That was probably for the best, although Dean couldn't help but feel disappointed. He really was all alone now.

"No, I'm a lost boy," Peter Pan was saying. Dean vaguely remembered something about the movie that meant that this was funny, so he laughed along with the other man.

"Uh, do you want to sit down?" he offered, motioning to the rest of the park bench.

"Absolutely! Do you know how hard it is being on your feet all day?"

Dean nodded. "Of course, I'm pretty sure I'm not welcome back to her house, or even on the car ride home, so that might be changing."

Peter Pan nodded sympathetically. "I know what you mean, man. I'm Tyler, by the way." He held out his hand, and Dean shook it firmly. "I came here when my parents kicked me out, but there was no love lost there, you know? I'd been living with them since my high school girlfriend dumped me, in college, for this new kid. I guess they decided my time for mourning was over," he laughed.

Dean laughed too. "Nice to meet you, Tyler. I'm Dean, and my girlfriend just dumped me at Disneyworld, taking my son away with her. I dropped out of high school, so, you know, I guess that counts for something."

Tyler laughed again. "You know, if you're really looking for a job, I could put in a word with my manager. You see Jackson over there?" Dean looked where Tyler was pointing and saw a very tired looking Captain Hook.

"You mean Hook?" He wasn't sure whether to be repulsed or attracted by the role.

"Yeah. He's, um, on his last leg, so to speak."

"Pirate pun?" Dean guessed.

Tyler winced. "Unintentional, I assure you. The truth is, he just doesn't really like kids, and he's not good with them at all."

"That's why he's Captain Hook then, right?" Dean asked, not seeing the issue. "I mean, that's sort of part of his character, isn't it?"

"That's the part they aren't supposed to see unless they ask for it, though. There are very specific rules, you know. It's not all make-up, sunshine, and wishing on stars. We have contracts, we're supposed to be likable people, you know!"

Dean shrugged. "I mean, if you ask Lisa, she'll tell you just how likable I am. I really don't think you want to do what you're implying, man."

Tyler smiled. "He's honest, intelligent, and funny! It just gets better and better! I mean, tell me, Dean, what do you know about keeping kids happy and comfortable, or making them feel safe?"

Dean stiffened. This was not something he wanted to discuss with a random stranger! "Are you sure your 'Peter Pan' isn't influencing your opinion of, uh, Johnson, was it?"

"Jackson," Tyler corrected, "and of course not. You're missing the point of being Captain Hook. He's not there to scare kids. Half the kids who meet him are already scared out of their minds! Villains are here to help children face their fears, to prove that the evil in this world can be defeated! Don't you see? There's so much more to being here than just playing a part. You are an influence on a child's life. You are the first fear they faced, or the worst thing they've encountered. You are that first trial they overcame, or that memory they'll reflect on for a third grade writing prompt. Sometimes, you're the one who can look at the teenager and tell them, 'Don't go there.' This place isn't just for kids, Dean."

Dean sat for a moment, absorbing everything he'd just been told. "But why me?" he finally asked.

Tyler smiled. "You avoided me earlier when I asked about your experience with kids, which tells me that you have some, and that it was very important to you. Am I right?"

Dean nodded, then realized that it was his turn to contribute to the conversation some more. "I have a little brother," he started, then stopped. This was still far too fresh, and besides, what else could he say? I've really missed him since he was possessed by Lucifer, beat me to a bloody pulp, and then took control and jumped into a pit of Hell? I took care of him while our dad killed vampires, demons, and angry spirits? "He's, uh, he's gone now. Accidentally got in the middle of a fight that wasn't even his, and I was too late." It was so close to the truth that Dean felt his throat tightening as he tried to say the words. He cleared it forcefully and looked at his sympathetic listener, hoping his eyes weren't giving away his current emotional status.

"I, um, our dad was never around much when we were kids. Our mom was killed in a, uh, house fire when Sammy was just a baby, and he never really got over it. We moved around from motel to motel, you know, and he was usually gone, so I took care of Sammy. That was always my job, you know? Keep Sammy safe. Take care of Sammy. But in the end," his voice cracked, and he shoveled a bite of pie into his mouth to hide his tears.

Tyler sat there quietly for a moment, giving Dean some space. When Dean glanced back up, he smiled. "What's a villain without a tragic backstory? Seriously, though, you could have such a huge impact on so many kids just because you understand the inexplicable weight of having too much responsibility, too young."

"Inexplicable? Is that even a word, college boy?"

Tyler smirked. "I wouldn't know. I dropped out, remember? It sounded good, though, so I'm going with it. My point is, you're relatable, Dean! You're approachable, but you could also be intimidating and scary and everything that Captain Hook is. Just think about it, okay?"

Dean nodded and swallowed another bite of pie. "Where would I live, though? I'm not exactly local, and even if I were, I just got kicked out, remember?"

Tyler smiled. "And now, to unleash my secret agenda all along! I'm actually looking for a roommate to help split the rent on my apartment. You could stay with me. As a matter of fact, you can even crash there tonight, regardless of your decision. I get that it's a totally crazy time for you, so don't rush your decision."

Dean stood up slowly, stretching his legs. "Actually, I think I'll take the job. I'd rather be working than looking for work, even if it means I have to wear a permed wig and a ton of guy-liner. You're a good guy, Tyler."

Tyler smiled. "My break's almost over, but I'll introduce you to my manager before I head back. I'm glad you agreed, Dean, you'll fit right in here!"

"Alright, just let me toss this plate, and you can lead the way," Dean agreed.

As Tyler led them down a path, Dean took a minute to process what had just happened. He, Dean Winchester, hunter, had agreed to work at Disneyworld. As Captain Hook. He was going to be an actor. "Sonuvabitch!" he muttered.

"What?" Tyler asked, chuckling a little at the random expletive.

"It's just, I always used to tease Sammy about wanting to be an actor, or doing a school play, and look at me now!"

"Fate, am I right?" Tyler smirked innocently.

"Oh, don't get me started," Dean muttered. "She's a bitch if there ever was one, but she gets the job done."

"That's why people don't mess with her, man. Just let it all play out, you know?"

"What, unless you're some uber-powerful, supernatural being that can change history?" Dean asked sarcastically.

"Exactly," Tyler laughed.

Wow, Dean thought, this is going to be interesting! "So, how much farther to this office?"

"Not far," Tyler assured him. "Hey, besides your girlfriend and son, what would you want to have with you here? I know, it's random, but there's just been too much heavy stuff already, so I wanted to have a chance at a semi-normal conversation. It's kind of the equivalent of what do you like to do, I guess."

Dean shrugged. "I mean, I'm going to have to go get my Baby, of course. Yeah, I'll have to tell this manager of yours that I can't start until next week. I can't stay here without Baby. Hell, Lisa barely managed to convince me to vacation without her in the first place!"

Tyler stared him. "Uh, who is 'Baby'?"

"My car, man." At Tyler's visible sigh of relief, Dean decided that he didn't want to know where Tyler's mind had gone. "She's a beautiful, sleek '67 Chevy Impala. Honestly, man, nicest car you've ever driven, you know? Not that I'd let you drive Baby, of course. Nothing personal, but Sammy always said I was too overprotective of her."

"I can understand that, man! Do you do all the work on her yourself?"

"Ain't nobody else touching my baby!" Dean shot back indignantly.

Tyler smirked lightly, then nodded. "So you're a mechanic too, then?"

"I guess you could say that. I mean, I know my way around a car."

"This gets better and better, Dean! It's going to be awesome working with you!"

"I don't have the job yet," Dean reminded him, laughing, as they finally came up to the door of the office.

"You can stop worrying about that, then," came a new voice from just inside the door. "Come on in and introduce yourself. If you've got Tyler's personal recommendation, there's not much else to even talk about. I'm assuming you're here to take over the job of Captain Hook?" he continued as Dean stepped into the dark office and let his eyes adjust to the light.

It was a small room, he noticed, but for a "bare necessities" kind of person, it worked out alright.

"Yes, sir," he answered the shadowy figure behind what he was pretty sure was a desk.

As his pupils dilated, he could tell that it was, indeed, a very cluttered desk. The person coming around the desk, however, was a middle aged man in a button-down shirt. Dean got the immediate impression that this man belonged at a law firm rather than an amusement park, but then he realized that he was actually getting a "nice" vibe from the man and dismissed that thought.

"I'm Ron Myers. Good to have you aboard," he held out his hand, letting his welcome trail off slightly.

"Dean Winchester," Dean gripped the offered hand, "and thank you, sir."

"Please, call me Ron!" he insisted.

"And call me Dean, of course," Dean returned.

"Wonderful," Tyler interjected, "you guys work out the boring things and I'll go make some afternoons magical. Meet me when the park closes and I'll show you where we'll be most of the time before we head back to my place, alright, Dean?"

Dean nodded. "Sounds good, Tyler. Thanks a lot, man!"

Tyler nodded and ran off, his red hair glinting in the bright sunlight.

Ron motioned toward the chair in front of his desk. "Please, sit. There isn't much to go over, really, but we do need to cover some basics. Like I said, a personal recommendation from Tyler Newman is pretty much a guaranteed job."

"He seems like a pretty great guy," Dean agreed as they both sat down, "and I'm glad he'll be around while I'm trying to figure this place out!"

Ron nodded. "Okay, down to business! Can you start in two weeks? I'd like to give Jackson that much notice, and you'll need to learn some basic lines." They talked through all the boring details, and agreed that Dean would start two weeks later. After a few signatures and another handshake, Dean found himself wandering the park again.

He was hoping to run into Ben, just to get a chance to say goodbye, but he knew Ben and Lisa were long gone. He replayed their fight in his mind, trying to understand, but there was no understanding.

For a moment, as he watched a young family laugh and pose for a picture, he felt completely and utterly alone. Sammy was gone forever. Bobby reminded him too much of being with Sam. Lisa was gone, and Ben with her. Cas had disappeared and hadn't been heard of since that awful day. Hell, even the demons were avoiding him. Was he really that bad? Was it really his fault that everyone left him?

Then he shook his head and pasted a smile on his face. This might be Disneyworld, but chick flick moments were still strictly prohibited.

He looked a family with all grown up kids instead, and the smile completely vanished from his face as his heart dropped clear out of his chest.

"Sammy?" he whispered, cursing his emotions. "Sam!" he called out a little louder.

The family stopped walking. "Sam?" the oldest man asked, "Do you know this guy?"

Sam looked at Dean and smiled. "Yeah, he's my brother. This is Dean, everybody. Nice to see you and all," he added in Dean's direction, who stood there completely shell-shocked, "but we're busy right now. Catch up later?"

Dean shook his head, trying to wake up from his stupor. "Yeah, sure, of course," he answered emptily, knowing even then that it would never happen. This couldn't be possible, could it? He watched Sam walk away carelessly, feeling like he was losing his brother all over again. The pain was ten times worse, and he found himself falling onto the next park bench he came to.

Even though he knew it was futile, he found himself talking aloud. "Hey, Cas, if you've got your ears on, get your ass to Disneyworld right now. Sam's back, kind of; I don't know how, but if you had anything to do with it, you better fix what you messed up! Something's wrong, Cas. Come on, man, you have to help me out here."

He waited, but nothing happened. He shook his head. "I guess this is just another part of my 'tragic backstory' then. Man, they have no idea what they're getting into."

He stood and began to walk away when he heard a tell-tale rustle of wings.

"Dean."

* * *

Reviewers get pie!


	2. Back in Black

Back in Black

Dean whirled around to see his trench-coated angel waiting expectantly.

"Cas? Where have you been, man?" Forgetting his rules about personal space, Dean took a firm step forward and hugged Cas tightly.

"Um, Dean? Was there something you needed?" the slightly flustered angel asked, when he could breathe.

"Yeah," Dean stepped back and released him, taking a shaky breath. "It's been a, uh, really long day, Cas. I mean, it's been awful! Lisa and Ben are gone," he started to explain when he was interrupted.

"Dean, wouldn't this classify as one of the 'chick flick' moments you're always trying to avoid? If there is some area I can assist you with, I would be more than happy to, but there are pressing matters in heaven that need my attention."

Dean stared at Cas for a long moment. "So, uh, is that where you've been, then? Taking care of the 'pressing matters in heaven' suddenly took precedence over checking in on the people, or person, you've been with for the whole apocalypse?" He wasn't sure why he was so possessive, but he figured it had something to do with how naïve his angel was, or the vulnerable air he seemed to always give off.

"Yes, Dean, heavenly matters have always taken precedence over the trivial things of life on earth," Cas explained very slowly.

"So what do you call pulling Sam out of Hell?" Dean asked, feeling unreasonably angry. "Besides, I seem to remember that just a few months ago, you were all about life on earth."

People were starting to stare, and Dean knew he should stop, or at least try to get some control over himself, but he couldn't stop anymore.

"My brother died in your cause, Cas! The least you could have ever done was answer a freakin call! Why is this the first time I've seen you since all that happened? I thought we were friends, Cas. I thought I could rely on you! I thought, even if everyone else in my life is gone, Cas won't leave me! What the hell happened, man? I've been all alone, and now you show up out of the blue and want to know why I'm angry? You abandoned me, you bastard! You're always talking about how I couldn't possibly comprehend things, or I'm not on your level, but you seemed to think I was perfectly fine to be stuck alone in a brand new place, completely cut off from all my family and friends because, oh yeah! They're all dead! And how was I supposed to know that you weren't too? I mean, everyone else I've ever been friends with has left or died, but I guess you would be the first to do both. Would you be happy then?"

"I don't understand, Dean. I am not dead. I don't see the issue." Cas looked adorably confused, but then, that could just be his normal look.

Dean took a shaky breath. "You left me when I needed you, Cas."

"I apologize, Dean, but I was not aware that you needed me for anything," Cas answered sincerely.

Dean shook his head and started walking toward where he'd first seen Tyler.

"Dean, where are you going?" Cas asked.

"I'm going to go tell somebody that I'm not going home with them tonight," Dean answered, "because we have a lot to talk about, and I refuse to do it here."

"Dean," Cas grabbed his arm to stop him. "I am truly sorry that your girlfriend is gone, but it might be for the best."

Dean had to bite his tongue hard, forcing himself to remember who he was talking to. "What would be best," he ground out between clenched teeth, "would be to have my son, my brother, and my best friend."

Cas frowned. "Lisa is your best friend?"

Dean shook his head. "No, Cas. You're my best friend, man! I mean, two people survive the apocalypse together, they're going to be closer than usual, right?"

Cas nodded slowly. "So if you don't want to talk here, where do you want to talk?"

Dean shrugged, then thought for a second. "Give me a minute, then zap me to my baby, would you?"

"And where is the Impala?" Cas asked immediately.

Dean smirked. "Good boy, Cas. She's in Lisa's garage."

Cas nodded. "One minute is all you need?"

Dean shook his head quickly. "It's a phrase we use here, man. I'll tell you when I'm ready, okay?"

"Okay, Dean. I'll just wait here, then," Cas agreed. He watched as Dean walked toward the man dressed in green and began to say something. He felt a twinge of guilt for abandoning Dean, but after he had failed so badly with Sam, he just didn't want to see the look of disappointment on Dean's face. In a way, the angel was glad for the display of explosive human emotion because it prevented him from having to make the confession that he knew was coming. How do you even confess something like this, though? "Dean, I'm very sorry that I made your brother an emotionless robot. I had thought I was rescuing him, but I only made it worse. I can't ever make it up to you, and I've been ignoring your prayers because I was disappointed in myself." No, that didn't even sound right in his head. Out loud…

"I understand, Cas," Dean answered, startling the angel. He had been so wrapped up in thought that he hadn't realized Dean's conversation had ended. But apparently Dean had heard the whole apology. Cas slowly looked up into Dean's eyes and flinched at the pain there.

"Dean, I just wanted to fix things. I brought you back, so I thought I could handle it! I guess being around you so much made me start to believe that anyone could achieve the impossible, but I guess that's only you. I'm so sorry, Dean, I let my pride get in the way and I ruined everything even worse than before."

"Cas! Man, I get it, but you have to give yourself some credit. I mean, if it's just you and me now, we can't both be hating ourselves. Come on, let's get out of sight so you can zap us to Lisa's. Besides, I'm pretty sure it counts for something that you managed to get one and a half people out, and it counts for much more, in my book, that you at least tried. I mean, we can play the blame game all day, but I have a whole lifetime of regrets when it comes to not giving Sammy what he wants. You did the best you could, Cas. We both did. Who knows, maybe we can fix Sam if we pool our resources." As Dean spoke, he led the angel around, trying to find a quiet corner where no one would notice them disappearing.

Cas listened dumbly and followed the man's lead. He knew it was still all his fault, but he felt comforted knowing that Dean was trying to make him feel better. When they reached a spot that Dean thought was good, he reached out to touch Dean's forehead, but something made him stop just before teleporting. "Dean?" he asked quietly.

"What is it, Cas?" Dean answered in surprise. "Is everything okay? You have your angel mojo, right?"

"That is not the issue," Cas assured him. "I was just wondering: when you said you hate yourself, that was just a figure of speech, right?"

Dean stared at the compassionate angel for a long moment, unsure of how to respond. Finally, he decided on a sad smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. The immediate sorrow that filled the angel's gaze made Dean's heart drop, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to his only friend. Not now.

"Let's get to Lisa's, okay, Cas?" Dean asked, breaking the depressing moment.

Cas nodded and touched his fingers to Dean's forehead. A moment later, they were standing in the garage of Lisa's house next to the Impala.

Dean hesitated before opening the driver's side door. "Hey, Cas? Don't worry, alright? We're going to work together now, and we'll fix him. And I think we'll be okay, too."

Cas nodded. "You be careful, Dean. There are forces at work that even we don't entirely understand. The angels are without leadership, so not only is there chaos, but there's no one besides me to keep them from coming after you."

"I'm always careful, Cas," Dean nodded. "You take care of yourself, though. If there is chaos in heaven and you've appointed yourself to personally protect me, I can only imagine the kind of danger you're stuck in. You watch your feathery ass because when I figure out how to fix my brother, I'm going to need you in one piece to help me."

Cas held Dean's gaze by means of response and disappeared.

Dean sighed and turned to the Impala. "Alright, Baby, it's just you and me. Next stop, Disneyworld."

*****SPN*****

Crowley paced his throne room impatiently, enjoying the way his minions cowered from his ire.

"Where is that infernal demon? Is it not enough that he lost the job I spent days ensuring he would get, or that he lost it to a blasted Winchester? No, now he has no access to fresh new recruits, he can't set up deals, and he can't even show up on time to his own execution! This is beyond unacceptable! The bloody idiot ruined the entire operation! It was a perfect set up, honestly, having a man in the place where all your wishes come true, and he went and threw it down the drain because of some bad acting! This is exactly why I hate demons. They're so predictably unimaginative! They have no creativity, no drama, and no theatrics. It's all just hatred, murder, and deals. Do they care that their audience would never recommend them? NO!"

"Then what do you call yourself?" came a lazy drawl from behind the irate king of Hell. He whirled around to find the demon in question lounging against a dreary wall, falling asleep to the sounds of suffering.

"Wake up, Jackson, and get your failure of an ass off my wall! What, do you want a reward? Some recognition?"

"Excuse me, your majesty, but I have been working that very same ass off all day long, and I think it deserves a break."

"No, no you haven't," Crowley screamed. His face had darkened to a dark shade of red as his anger increased, and some of the experienced demons were entertaining themselves by explaining to new recruits that it is possible for a demon to get so mad that their soul will spontaneously combust inside them, instantly killing the demon and disintegrating the host. "If you'd been working so hard, we wouldn't be in this predicament right now where I have to choose between letting you win or letting Dean Winchester win! You have been nothing but trouble since the day I recruited you, and I really thought that the easiest assignment in the world would at least make you see your role in a greater picture, but apparently I was wrong!" Crowley took a moment to collect himself before continuing in a much calmer, ten times deadlier voice.

"Look at that, Jackson. You got me to admit I was wrong, you sneaky son of a bitch. Now, Crowleys don't like to admit being wrong, and they definitely don't like being played, and there is nothing they like about being cheated out of easy souls that should have come pouring in like rain in Florida. For all of that, you will suffer, and I will watch, and I will enjoy it. I have no intention of getting my hands dirty with your blood, however."

At this point, Jackson gulped, realizing for the first time just how badly he'd screwed up. Crowley, who lived for pain and punishment, would refuse to participate in his torture.

"Sir," he offered, "since I'm being condemned, I'd like a final request. I mean, I do have two more weeks to work at the park," he began.

"No, Jackson," Crowley interjected, "your vessel has two more weeks. Any one of my loyal followers can use your meat suit and play your role just as shittily as you have for another fourteen days, and you can't weasel your way out of this one."

"That wasn't entirely my request," Jackson admitted. "I only want to go back for one afternoon, and I want to kill Dean Winchester."

Crowley stopped his pacing and looking the condemned demon up and down very slowly. "Well, I am a fair ruler, and since you are going to be spending the next few millennia in constant agony, I think you deserve to have one dying wish. A figure of speech, of course, since you aren't going to die, but it sounds nicer that way. Although a 'last wish before being tortured within an inch of your life for thousands of years without a single break while the king of hell watches in approval' does have a nice ring to it. The question here is, can I trust you to not fuck this up for me? Because any demon in your meat suit could kill Winchester, especially when his guard is down."

Jackson waited impatiently, imagining he could already feel the pain he was going to endure. Finally, he couldn't take it any longer. "So, is that a yes, your majesty?"


	3. Family Affair

"You can't cry, cause you'll look broke down

But you're cryin anyway cause you're all broke down!"

("Family Affair" Sly and the Family Stone)

* * *

It had been nine hours of nothing but driving, and Dean was tired of it. As therapeutic was it was to just sit behind the wheel and pour his heart out to his baby, there was a point where he just needed someone to answer. He thought ruefully of the time Gabriel turned Sam into Baby, and that just highlighted the real issue: he missed his little brother.

Classic rock lost some of its allure when no one was constantly criticizing it.

Greasy food didn't taste half as good when he wasn't being reminded that he was eating a heart attack.

Even Disneyworld wasn't what it could have been, although that one didn't surprise him. Sammy had always been the one who was more interested in normal childhood things. Dean sighed into the oppressive silence. One of his biggest regrets was not giving Sammy a normal childhood. Forget that he was only four years older and completely incapable of doing anything more than what he had already done; if he'd known how soon he would lose his little brother, he would have done so much more.

Recognizing the growing lump in his throat, Dean quickly fought off the depressing thoughts before… Before what? Before Sam noticed? Before Lisa realized? Before Ben saw? Before Cas showed up? Before Dad called him a girl?

"It's just you and me, Baby," Dean whispered, the full weight of those words dawning on him for the first time. Suddenly, it was all too much. He pulled over to the side of the road, carefully easing Baby onto the least dirty section of the shoulder, and turned off the engine. As his last strands of control died with the hum of the car, tears began streaming down his face.

He was all alone, and it was all his fault.

Not-Sam had his own family now, and they took him to Disneyworld. Sure, it was on a hunt, and maybe he wasn't exactly himself, but he got what he'd wanted without Dean.

Cas was gone, and who knows? Maybe he was getting himself killed trying to keep other angels from hurting Dean.

And then there was Lisa.

He knew it was his fault, but he was just being honest. Women were confusing, family life was complicated, and parenting was stressful; hunting was straightforward and consistent. You find evil, and you kill it. Lisa had tried to change his mind, and she had really done everything she could, but he still couldn't get comfortable in the domestic lifestyle.

And then there was Dad. He traded his soul for Dean's. He went to Hell for Dean. He was still gone, and he always would be.

Dean shook as long-suppressed sobs wracked his body. Screw Lucifer, he thought. This was where it was always supposed to end up: Dean, alone, surrounded by his Baby and his regrets.

Then "Smoke on the Water" began playing, startling Dean out of his impromptu "feelings" session. Despite knowing that whoever it was couldn't see him, he wiped his eyes before answering the phone.

"Dean? What's going on?"

"Bobby?" Dean asked incredulously. "Bobby, it's so good to hear your voice!"

"I asked you a question, ya idjit. There's nothing to get all touchy-feely about! Now what's going on? Cas just showed up talking about Sam being alive but not complete and you being unstable and something I couldn't quite understand about a demon wearing a wig and a man in green."

"Demon? What demon?" Dean asked immediately.

"Hell if I know, boy. Something about an amputee, I think."

"Dammit!" Dean yelled, hitting the steering wheel. "Captain Hook's a frickin demon!"

There was a pause on the line.

"Bobby? You still there?" Dean asked.

"I'm going to ask you one more time, son. What. The living hell. Is going on?" Bobby asked, slowly and deliberately.

Dean took a deep breath. "It's kind of a long story, Bobby. You sure you want to hear it?"

Dean heard the older man heave an exaggerated sigh. "Would I have asked you if I didn't, boy? Get talking!"

Dean nodded. "Okay, so Lisa and I broke up."

"Stop right there," Bobby cut in. "Who dumped who? Because I swear to everything that's holy, if you ran out on that woman and your son, I will tear you a new one!"

Dean winced, knowing it was not an empty threat, and settled for humiliation over excruciating pain. "She broke it off, Bobby. We were at Disneyworld, and we had a fight, and she grabbed Ben and told me not to follow her."

"Disneyworld?" Bobby interjected again.

"Dammit, Bobby, do you want to hear the story or do you want to criticize my life choices?" Dean exclaimed.

Bobby huffed. "Well, sheesh! I didn't realize it was that time of the month again, little lady. You know how it works: you tell the whole story, and I tell you how stupid you're being. Now get talking!"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Yes, Disneyworld. Ben wanted to go, and I never got to take Sam, so I thought I'd do something right, try to make up for it, you know? But apparently even Disney magic isn't enough to counteract my inherent bad luck. So Peter Pan saw her leave me, and he came over and talked to me for a while and I ate some pie, and he offered me a job."

"Slow down, Dean, you aren't making any sense. The hell do you mean, 'Peter Pan came over'?"

"Disneyworld," Dean reiterated. "They have these people dress up as characters and take pictures with kids and stuff. I should probably get some more information on that, come to think of," he mentioned without thinking.

"Why? You're single now, so you want to know how available the nearest mermaid is?" Bobby asked sarcastically.

"Um, actually, not exactly. The job Peter Pan offered me was, uh, playing Captain Hook. He said I could help people, and you know I'm a sucker for people being saved," Dean rushed through, hoping that Bobby didn't need him to repeat that. Based on the silence from the other end, he guessed that the message got across loud and clear. "So after I signed the paper work, I was walking around a little bit, and I saw Sammy. He was with another family of hunters, and when he saw me, he didn't seem surprised or moved or anything. He said we could catch up later because they were hunting, and that was it. So I called Cas," Dean kept going until Bobby interrupted again.

"Hold up, hold up. Did you say your brother walked right past you, after having been away for months, and there wasn't any incredibly embarrassing brotherly scene that fit in perfectly at the 'happiest place on earth'?"

Dean nodded.

"Did you just nod, you idjit? You know I can't see you, boy!"

"Well, you seem to have gotten the idea alright regardless," Dean ventured to mention.

"Don't you get smart with me, boy! You said you called Cas?"

"Yeah, and he came. I yelled at him, he listened, we teleported to Lisa's, and then he left. Now I'm driving Baby back to Disneyworld where there's apparently a demon that I just got fired. Did I mention my inherently bad luck?" Dean asked drily.

"You watch your back, boy, ya hear?" Bobby warned. Dean agreed, and Bobby continued. "What did Cas say about Sam?"

"He said it's all his fault because he bit off more than he could chew, and then he pulled out puppy eyes, and I told him we'd figure something out," Dean answered in a carefully regulated monotone.

It wasn't lost on Bobby. "Gone a little soft where a certain angel is involved, have you?"

"What?" Dean answered, shocked. "What are you talking about?"

"If anyone else had laid a finger on Sam and he'd gotten hurt in the process, no amount of puppy eyes could have saved them from incineration," Bobby reminded him.

"But this is Cas," Dean answered, knowing he was just making it worse. "It's not his fault, and he was just trying to make it better for me. He was really sorry, Bobby. You should have seen him. I didn't know angels could get so upset!"

Bobby snorted, but refused to tell Dean why. If the idjit had to be blind as a bat, then there was nothing an old drunk could do to change that.

"I'll work on the Sam issue from here, okay? You take care of that demon and learn your lines. Capice?"

Dean rolled his eyes.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me, boy! It's not my fault you make god-awful career choices!"

Dean chuckled and hung up the phone. He took a deep breath. "I should have done that a long time ago, Baby," he told the Impala, starting her up again. "Let's find somewhere to get some rest and some food, huh?"

*****SPN*****

"Sam, you have to admit that this case is-"

"A complete waste of time because everyone here is a complete moron who thinks they can protect their children from demonic forces or just a regular asshole who doesn't care that lives are at stake?" Sam finished the older man's sentence smoothly.

Samuel Campbell looked at his grandson critically. "Do you care that lives are at stake, Sam?"

"Not in the slightest. All I 'care' about," he answered, using air quotes that would make Cas proud, "is putting another black-eye son of a bitch in the ground."

The Campbell patriarch nodded slowly. "I'm not entirely sure we're on the same page," he admitted.

"What, because you believe some bullshit theory that 'demons are humans too'? Because that's not real life. I don't care if you are my grandfather, neither of us are supposed to be here, so what does it matter what we do? They're twisted and perverted, and the only sense of satisfaction I get is from watching them burn. You should feel the same way."

"Don't tell me how to feel," Campbell warned, but Sam ignored him.

"Unless you're going to tell me that it actually makes you feel better to 'rescue' a human being. I mean, they're going to die anyway. They might as well do it before they have to deal with PTSD and years of suffering," Sam pointed out bluntly.

Campbell dropped his head into his hands. "Can we not do this right now?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, does the reality of the situation make you feel uncomfortable? Because if so, then maybe this isn't the life for you, and you should go back to the hell you came from. Everyone knows that we'd be better off without you, anyway. Your methods are outdated, and you show way too much mercy. You're not a hunter anymore, Grand pops. You might as well retire."

Samuel Campbell raised himself to his full height. "I have put up with a lot from you ever since I found you, Sam, but there are some lines that you do not cross. Monsters are monsters, son, and you kill them now the same way we did when your mom was just a baby. It's simple enough. You find the evil, and you kill it. Now you may be family, son, but if I start to sense a bit of evil from whatever you are, don't think for a minute that you're exempt from that rule. I'm not your pansy ass brother; I will put you back in hell, so you show me the respect I'm due."

"Yeah, well, on that note, I'm going to go get a drink and bang some hot chick. Let me know how much fun you have doing your whole 'respectable' thing back here, and we'll compare notes and see who really knows what they're talking about, huh?"

Campbell watched the door close behind his youngest grandson with a sigh before turning back to his research. The hunt for the demon in Disneyworld was getting them nowhere. People saw "strange things" all the time, lights flickering announced every villain, it seemed, and the constant traffic swept away any possible sulfuric traces. He was starting to wonder if having Sam's brother as an extra pair of eyes would help, but after whatever Sam was had brushed Dean off so abruptly, there was no way Dean would even consider meeting the rest of his family, much less working with them. In fact, Samuel realized, getting up to check on his security measures, the most likely scenario was Dean chasing them down, killing them for brainwashing his brother, and kidnapping Sam, who was a ticking time bomb from all Samuel could tell.

He sighed. Family always complicated things.

* * *

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-Hugs and Chocolate!

Hailee


	4. Yesterday

Winchesters were the reason that angels should never come to earth, what with their careless good looks and can-do attitudes. This one seemed more troubled than usual tonight, and it took the angel far too long to realize that the man in question wasn't even sleeping.

Come to think of it, he hadn't been acting like himself at all lately. Of course, a trip to hell could always do that to you, but the angel figured he'd be over that by now. Maybe that was just his own wishful thinking, though. It was his human, after all. He had a charge to protect the human, and he was not about to let that slip through.

Chuck knows they all screwed up way too much in that joke of an apocalypse, and in the end, his charge failed to do as expected.

Adjusting his stance, the angel made sure he was still invisible as the man started walking around the motel room restlessly. He was tempted to reach out and calm him, but there was something holding him back.

He sighed inaudibly, wishing he could just talk to the man. The Winchesters were always good in times of trouble, and this whole fiasco in heaven was definitely what could be characterized as trouble. Rafael was causing trouble and disturbance, and even the demons were being stranger than usual. He could only assume it had something to do with the new king.

Crowley.

Even the name made his skin crawl, and he could almost feel the corruption seeping into his grace. It was what had to be done, though. Humans had a cliché that talked about the ends justifying the means. He wasn't sure if the Winchesters agreed with that entirely, but from what he'd seen, as long as the end involved their family staying together, they did.

He could only hope that they would see the truth when his betrayal came to light. After all, the end in his case was peace and unity among his brothers.

Noticing that the Winchester in question had dropped into a chair again with a vacant expression, the angel gently reached out two fingers to his forehead, although he remained invisible. When the brother slumped back into unconsciousness, the angel wondered just how far he'd go for this human. The more he stayed, the harder it was to tear himself away, but he had a war in heaven and a Winchester on earth.

Quiet moments were few and far between.

***SPN***

Dean slowly blinked awake as the sunlight streamed into the cheap motel room. He reached for Lisa, but when his hands met empty sheets, the memories began filtering back. He dropped back into the pillow and remembered everything that happened at Disneyland and the phone call with Bobby.

Despite the crushing failures and responsibilities, he forced himself to get out of bed once again. It was surprisingly easy, and he remembered how much harder it used to be when he had to steel himself for a day of faking and pretending to fit in. Today he suddenly didn't have the pressures of being a perfect dad and attentive boyfriend. Besides, today he could work on getting Sammy back. Now fully awake, he climbed out of the bed and began his typical start-of-day procedures.

He was ready to get back on the road in thirty minutes flat, and he was soon speeding down the interstate again.

"Hey, uh, Cas, I know you're busy and all, but just wondering if you- Jesus Christ!" he cut off, glancing to the side to see the angel staring at him attentively from the passenger seat.

"No, Dean, I'm Castiel. Are you feeling alright? Did you get enough sleep last night?" the angel asked in genuine concern, tilting his head.

"I'm fine, Cas. It's an expression here on earth when we're, uh, startled or surprised. So what brings you here?"

If possible, the angel looked even more confused. "Did you not call me?"

Dean shrugged it off, inexplicably flustered. "Yeah, but you know, angelic timetables and all, I can never really be sure if you came for me or if you had some other reason."

"My reasons aside, Dean, I-" the angel was beginning seriously before Dean cut him off.

"That looks like a chick-flick moment face. Cas, what have I said about chick-flick moments in the Impala?"

"You don't want them," he obediently repeated.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Cas, what's the point of free will if you're just going to use it to obey everything you're told anyway?"

"Well, there are several advantages on a purely human level including the various emotional responses that trigger the needs to both be governed and be independent. Celestial beings, however, cannot be constrained by something as trivial as human emotion, although if our vessel is still active, they can sometimes allow their own responses to filter through. For the most part, however, angelic responses function in an entirely different field of reality that is nearly impossible to explain in English. In Enochian, I would be able to explain the relationship between an angel's desire and need to be controlled, after which I could draw out an equation to compare those factors to the varying levels of relative power, which could then be correlated to absolute power if the other factors were all raised to infinite powers."

"Sounds like you can explain it just fine in English," Dean commented, surprising himself by realizing that he had listened to that entire spiel. He must really miss Sammy's mindless rants and useless knowledge, he thought.

"That's an incredibly abridged version, of course," Cas assured him. "Actually, we are told that at one time there were humans who were able to communicate in a simplified form of Enochian, at least in writing."

"What, like prophets?" Dean asked.

"No, because they could not actually read the Enochian and more than one could exist at a time, but the archangels and early humans worked together to formulate a language that worked with both of our unique forms of communication."

"Huh. Is that kind of language still around now?" Dean asked, thinking that it might be helpful to know.

"Yes, as far as I can tell, it is now a requirement to graduate high school," Cas calmly answered.

"Woah, there, Featherbrain," Dean laughed, "if you think I'm actually going to believe that some kind of language developed by celestial beings is actually used by all of America, you've got another thing coming!"

Cas nodded seriously. "I'm serious, Dean. I believe the name you have for it is 'Algebra' but it is really a cross of Enochian and Arabic."

Dean slammed on the brakes and turned to look at Cas. "You've got to be kidding me!" he yelled. "You mean you're the dicks who decided to put letters into math? I can't believe this. I trusted you!"

"Dean, I don't understand. Is something wrong?" Cas asked as Dean got back up to speed, shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it. You weren't around then, right?" Dean asked.

"I wasn't directly involved, but I did witness the encounter," Cas admitted.

Dean sighed. "You know what, man? I'm gonna let this one go, okay?"

Cas looked even more confused. "Dean, I don't understand what I did!"

"Cas, you didn't do anything, okay, buddy? It's just, this is the kind of thing that Sammy would appreciate, so I can't really handle it right now without having him here to geek out, you know?" Mentally high-fiving himself for both diffusing the situation and redirecting the focus, Dean prepared to ask the question he'd wanted to talk about all morning.

"Speaking of Sammy," he started, "any leads in that department? Do you have any idea what to do about his whole condition, or even what his condition really is?" he automatically translated. He knew his angel… The angel… would have that head tilt thing going on, but he couldn't bring himself to look. What if he didn't have any news? He didn't want to have to see that there wasn't any news.

"There may be a way to correct your brother, but I'll have to be close to him to diagnose the issue," Cas explained.

"If you don't know what's wrong," Dean said slowly, "how do you know you can fix it?"

"Because I know things like that, Dean," Cas said, exhausted. "Do you want me to go on ahead and scope out the territory? Maybe I could smite that demon for you too?"

Dean shook his head. "No, Wing Man, unless you're zapping me and Baby with you, you're staying right here. We're going to stick together for this one."

Cas tilted his head again and screwed his eyes shut. Dean realized a moment too late that his angel… the angel… was taking him literally. Again.

A moment later, they were sitting in the parking lot at Tyler's place.

Dean immediately jumped out of the car and began running his hands over it. "I swear, if you put one scratch on her," he warned.

"Dean," the angel interrupted.

"No, don't you 'Dean' me! You just zapped my baby across…a lot of miles, and I'm making sure you didn't hurt her! Just give me a moment, okay?"

"I just thought you might want to know that there is a strong demonic presence in that building there," Cas inserted mildly.

"What?" Dean asked, jerking around and looking into the building. "Where? Is Tyler there?"

Cas concentrated. "There is a human presence in the building. I would have to be closer to be entirely certain, but I am fairly sure that based on the fact that he lives here it would be reasonable to deduce that he is the human involved."

"And this strong demonic presence, are we talking about multiple demons, or do we mean one big, nasty sonuvabitch?"

Cas focused. "There seem to be at least three demons in there right now."

"What are we waiting for?" Dean asked, impatiently. "Come on, Cas!"

"Dean!" the angel grabbed his jacket to hold him back.

"What, Cas, and make it snappy. Tyler's in trouble."

"There are other hunters coming here," Cas said mildly.

Dean nodded. "Good. They can help us gank those things in there, but we can't wait! We don't know what's going on!"

"Alright, Dean, you lead the way then," Cas agreed, grabbing his angel blade.

"What do you have that for? Can't you just smite the sons of bitches?" Dean asked.

Cas rolled his eyes. "Not all at the same time if the human doesn't know to hide his eyes, don't be stupid! Come on!"

Dean faltered for a second and then ran after the angel.

They burst into the apartment, blades ready, and were immediately assaulted by two demons. The hunter and angel were thrown into opposite walls, and the third demon slowly stood up.

Dean dropped his head and groaned, but any further movement was prevented by the pressure keeping him against the wall. "Dammit, Cas, couldn't you have mentioned that one of the demons was the fucking King of Hell?"

Crowley smiled. "Hello, boys!"

Cas winced but remained silent and otherwise immobile.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Dean asked, outraged.

Crowley sighed. "It's nothing permanent, I promise! I figured you'd be stupid enough to bring your angel, so I put up some subtle Enochian wards. He couldn't sense them, but he is practically human now that he's inside these rooms!"

"Alright, you scum bag, what do you want?" Dean ground out. For some reason, the image of a helpless angel wasn't sitting right with him.

"Actually, you can thank my demon, Jackson, for this whole scenario. Unfortunately, he couldn't be here to execute it because he is currently serving a life sentence on the rack. Are you familiar with that, Dean? You are, right? Well, he sends his love and a few choice words that slipped out when he realized I was carrying out his plan with a few changes in the cast. Basically, we capture Peter Pan, and Captain Hook comes swooping in to the rescue. Hmmm, quite the case of literary irony, isn't it?"

"Are you quite done analyzing your handiwork, or would you like to let me go now so I can shred your pompous ass to pieces?"

"As lovely as that thought sounds, I'll have to take a rain check. Regrets!" Crowley returned cheerfully. "In the meantime, I thought you could watch me kill your coworker, your, uh, life partner are they calling it? And finally I'll reclaim your soul and you can join the line of vengeful souls waiting to torture Jackson. It's quite impressive the number of souls he got for me in the time he was working here, you know, and it's quite regrettable that he had to be recalled, but that's the business! He just wasn't personable enough, you know?"

"That probably had something to do with the fact that he was never a person to start with," Dean suggested.

"That very well may be," Crowley agreed. "In fact," he looked like he was warming up for another longwinded speech when he was suddenly sizzling and emitting very unmanly screeches. Dean smirked.

"Bet you didn't see that one coming, your majesty," he taunted, hearing the beginnings of an exorcism before all three demons fled their meat suits and Dean and Cas were released to face their liberators.

Dean took one look and turned around. "Okay, Cas, what's this Enochian symbol going to look like?" he asked.

Cas grabbed his arm. "Don't walk away, Dean. They just saved both of us. I will find the symbol, but you need to do this."

"What are you, Oprah?" Dean asked before turning back to the two hunters he probably owed his life to.

"Dean," the older one nodded.

He nodded back, but his attention was glued to the younger, taller hunter. "Sammy?"

"Dean," came the response.

"Thanks, you guys. If you'd been any later, I'm not sure all three of us would have made it," he admitted.

"Three?" Samuel asked.

"Oh, fuck!" Dean yelled, smacking his head. "Tyler!" he went running through the house until he found the man. Cas had already been there and was assuring Tyler that he would suffer no lasting damage.

"Oh, Dean, I found and voided the symbol," Cas told the hunter. "I can take a look at your brother now." Dean nodded and Cas walked out.

"Uh, what's going on? Dean? Who are these people?" a very white-faced Tyler was asking.

Dean smiled thinly and was about to answer when a yell came from the front room.

"Sammy? Cas?" Dean called out. When neither answered, he started to panic again. "Stay here just a second, okay? I promise I'll explain as soon as everyone's okay!"

He ran out of the room, resigned to the fact that Tyler didn't know what was good for him and was running right behind him.

Sam was sitting in a kitchen chair screaming in agony while Cas was pulling his hand out of Sam's abdomen.

"Oh my god," Tyler muttered from behind Dean.

"Cas? What is it?" Dean asked, ignoring his panicking coworker.

Cas looked about as white as a sheet. "Okay, this is very bad, but I think I can remedy the situation."

"How? What's the situation?"

"It seems that in my hurry to rescue your brother from eternal torture, I somehow left his soul behind. It's still being tortured and would hurt Sam, but I have another solution," the angel assured all the shocked humans.

"Cas, don't you think you're rushing this a bit," Dean offered. "I mean, you just found out, and now you're going to operate? Maybe we should get a second opinion?"

"You want another person? Okay," the flustered angel disappeared with a pop before reappearing with a disgruntled Bobby.

"Here's another person. The situation is simple. Sam has no soul. His own soul is harmful to his body. The only way to fix him is fairly clear." Without another word, the angel touched two fingers to Sam's head and then vanished.

Dean, Bobby, Samuel, and Tyler all blinked very slowly.

"Where the hell is my brother?" Dean yelled, running toward the pile of large clothes and the spot where the angel and hunter had seemed to vanish.

"Oh my god, what is going on! Who are you people? Why are you in my house? Can you not just take a break?" Tyler freaked out.

That's when Sam's coat moved, and everyone froze. Dean reached out tentatively and moved a fold of the jacket before jumping back.

Swamped by the gigantic clothes was an exact copy of his brother at four years old.

"Sammy?" he asked.

"Dean!" the little kid crowed happily.

Dean froze. "So, what? You know who I am? Do you know all of these people?" he asked, pointing around the room.

"Bobby!" the little kid cheered. "Dean, I'm cold!" he quickly complained. "I wanna go home! Can we go home? And get some food? I want pizza!"

Dean had just gotten over the shock enough to scoop his shivering little brother up into his arms when Tyler completely broke.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? WOULD SOMEBODY PLEASE EXPLAIN IT TO ME? CAN YOU JUST GET OUT OF MY HOUSE WITH ALL OF YOUR FREAKISHNESS?"

Samuel took over calming the actor down, and Bobby stared around helplessly.

"Dean," Sammy said seriously, looking at Tyler, "he needs to use an inside voice!"

Dean suddenly found himself biting back laughter. "Alright, come on, short stuff. Let's get the hell out of dodge. You too, Bobby!"

Bobby shrugged. "I have no idea what you idjits got yourselves into this time, Dean."

Dean sighed. "I know, I know, but I have a four year old little brother right now, so how about pull-ups first, serious talk later?"

Bobby rolled his eyes.

"Good, it's a plan!" Dean nodded. "Catch you later, Samuel? See you at work, Tyler!"

Bobby groaned. "Dean Winchester, when did you get so… domestic?"

Dean shrugged. "Seriously, Bobby, can we talk later?"

"Oh, that's a promise, boy," the gruff hunter assured him.

"Alright then, short stuff," Dean laughed at the kid in his arms.

"That's not funny, Dean!" Sammy pouted.

"Oh, but it really is," Dean answered. "Hey, you'll understand it when you're older," he promised.

* * *

_Sorry about the crappy ending... I am determined to see this story through come sleep deprivation or mood swings! _

_Please review!_

_~Hugs and Chocolate!_

_Hailee_


	5. Fortunate Son

"Sammy, do you want Mac 'n' Cheese?" Dean asked, deceptively calm.

The toddler whimpered again, throwing the food off the table for the third time and sticking his lower lip out. "No! I wan' a hot dog!"

Dean took a deep breath. "Sammy, I don't have any hot dogs right here. I have Mac 'n Cheese, so you need to eat it."

"No, Dean!" Sammy yelled. "Don' wan' it!"

Dean stood up and walked away from the small table, running his hands through his hair in frustration. So far, it had been three hours and Sammy had not only refused to eat anything besides a hot dog, but also gotten over his attachment to Dean. There had been two temper tantrums, counting the food throwing, and Dean had reached a point where he just wanted to join in and throw some food back.

Once Sammy was sasquatch-sized again, Dean was going to pay him back for this one, big time.

Dean froze, suddenly realizing that the little monster had been suspiciously quiet for the duration of his reflection. He slowly turned around, various nightmarish scenes playing out in his mind, and felt his heart return to his chest with a slight tug at the sight of his little brother, fast asleep, with his head on the table and his little hands spreading cheese sauce through his hair.

He laughed quietly. "All that excitement wear you out, Baby Boy?" he asked in a low tone.

"I'm still on my feet, ain't I?" came a gruff reply, making Dean jump about twelve feet in the air.

"Geezus, Bobby, don't do that!" he hissed. A grim smile came over the older hunter's face.

"For a guy that's so determined to keep that little kid out of trouble, you sure are shit when it comes to security," he remarked.

Dean felt a pang of guilt that quickly grew as he looked at Sammy again. Suddenly, the warmth that he'd been feeling from the domestic picture in front of him melting into the stark picture of how badly he'd neglected his baby brother's safety and care.

He felt a panic attack coming as his chest began to tighten and his breath got shorter and faster, but the various images flitting through his mind did nothing to help calm him down. "Oh _my _god," he gasped. "Jesus, Bobby, I can't take care of this kid! I can't do anything!" his voice was now higher than the four year old's, which was mortifying, but he was too terrified to care about that.

Bobby rolled his eyes at Dean's overreaction. "Ya' damn idjit," he muttered, "it's just me, Dean! It's not like I'm a threat to you or anything!"

Dean stared at him incredulously. "Just you? But you got in, Bobby! I mean, Sammy's fuckin helpless, but I'm too busy staring at how peaceful he is to protect him?"

"Calm down, boy!" Bobby interjected, now becoming alarmed by Dean's growing panic.

"Bobby," Dean attempted, but he was too busy hyperventilating to really form sentences.

Bobby rolled his eyes, realizing that Dean's "Mama Bear" instincts were kicking in, and the hunter still saw him as a threat. "Get out of yer' damn head, Dean. Sammy's fine, so get your girly ass over there and put that kid in bed! Christ, Dean! He's covered in cheese sauce, and you're growing lady parts because _I_ came over? Get your priorities straight, boy! I'll be back later." He knew that until he left, Dean wouldn't calm down. If he was being honest, though, he couldn't wait to get away! He turned toward the door, but then remembered the bag in his hand and turned back briefly to put it on the counter. "Here's yer' damn Lucky Charms."

Dean was listening anxiously for the sound of the door closing, which was the reason he heard the affectionately grumbled, "Idjits!" right before the sound he was waiting for. Now he just had to get Sammy cleaned up, but as he looked back at the four year old, he suddenly felt like he had absolutely no strength left In his body.

So what if his little brother was covered in cheese? Sammy was happy, and Dean couldn't handle waking him up right now. He sank to the floor with his back against the small fridge and dropped his head against his knees, still unable to really breathe right. The panic was gone, but there was a strange tightness in his chest still, so he did the only thing he could think of.

"Cas?" he asked tentatively. He sighed shakily. "Look, man, I can't do this. I don't have anyone else, and I just don't know what to do. I mean, Cas, I'm not mad, okay? I'm just overwhelmed, and I'm losing my grip. I need you, Cas! It's just all too much! Yesterday morning, I had a girlfriend and a son, and Sammy was dead. Today, I'm single and childless, and Sammy's alive but not normal, and then all of a sudden he's a freakin' kid, and god knows why any of this is happening, and just, please, Cas. I really, really need to see you." He was shaking now, and tears were coming dangerously close to falling down his face when he felt a shoulder next to his. "Cas?" he choked out.

"Dean," the angel answered evenly, evaluating the man's emotional state. He didn't know too much about the scale of human emotion, but he was pretty sure that Dean shouldn't be shaking like that, and he needed to help him. He hesitantly reached a hand across the leather jacket to grab Dean's other shoulder, holding him in an awkward, manly hug. To his alarm, the hunter only shook harder, and he was shocked to see tears falling down Dean's cheek. "Dean, are you alright?" he asked in genuine concern, tightening his hold and ensuring that the man was not physically hurt.

"I just can't keep it together, Cas," Dean gasped out. "I'm such a fuckin failure. I couldn't save Sammy from the pit the first time. Hell, even if Michael took me, I couldn't have stopped him from killing my brother. It's always been us against the world, you know? But now he's little again, and the last time he was this small, I fucked up bad, man. I almost got him killed, but then he did get killed, and now it's like a chance to do everything over, and I already fucked this up. I mean, Jesus, Cas! It was like I had a chance to fix everything I screwed up, and I already messed it up." His voice had fluctuated between strong and broken, but now he was completely taken over by the force of his tears.

Cas sat there silently, holding his broken friend, and tried to think about what he could do, especially since a lot of the things that had Dean so upset were his fault in the first place. With a sense of horror, he began to see just how bad he had made Dean's life. How had bringing the Righteous Man back from Hell deteriorated into sitting on the floor of a crappy motel while he cried in your arms over everything you'd taken from him? He began to apologize over and over, but Dean was too caught up in the long-suppressed emotion to hear him at first.

Finally, Dean began to calm down, and he was embarrassed to realize that his angel still had an arm wrapped tightly around him. He tried to shove it off, but the angel didn't budge. He turned his head toward Cas and saw that his eyes were screwed shut and his lips were moving.

"Cas?" Dean asked, fiercely willing the last few tears away. The only response he got was a tighter hug, but now the angel was at least speaking loudly enough for Dean to hear what he was saying.

"I'm so sorry, Dean. It's all my fault. I've failed you so much." The angel just kept whispering similar phrases without stopping, and Dean realized with a pang that now the angel was blaming himself for all of Dean's shit.

"Cas!" he called out, but there was no response. He turned toward the angel, and grabbed Cas's face with his hands, and when that failed to get the angel's attention, he made a split second decision and closed the short distance between their lips, effectively silencing Cas's apologies. Apparently this was an excellent way to get a distracted angel's attention, because after only a few seconds, Cas was fervently kissing back, and Dean suddenly came to his senses.

Pulling away, he looked at the angel in surprise before remembering what the point of all of that was. "Cas," he began, his serious tone belied by the way he left his hands against the angel's face, "Dude, none of this has ever been your fault! You have to stop doing this to yourself."

Cas looked right back at him just as seriously. "Surely you don't mean to imply that this is, in fact, your fault?" he questioned.

Dean winced. "Hey, that's okay, Cas. It's a human thing, really, and you're so much better than a human. If you can't enjoy the pie, you don't have to participate in the blame games, okay?"

Cas sighed. "I think I might have to try this pie, Dean. Shouldn't you check on Sam though?"

Dean smirked. "Can you still see him?" he asked.

Cas looked up and immediately nodded. "Are you sure he's okay?" he asked.

Dean nodded. "Believe me, at this age, when Sammy was awake or not okay, you knew it. If he's still quiet, then he's either asleep or getting into trouble, but since he was still at the table," Dean let his voice trail off at the look in Cas's eyes. "Cas? Is he still at the table?" he asked.

Cas shook his head. "I'm sorry, Dean," he apologized contritely. "I didn't know that's what you meant."

Dean jumped up from where he'd been practically sitting in Cas's lap, only torn between duties for a moment. "It's not your fault," he called over his shoulder as he looked for his little brother's blonde hair everywhere he could think.

He was really trying not to think about what just happened, mostly because he had no idea what it was himself. Well, he knew that it had been a damn good kiss, but he wasn't sure what it meant to either of them, and he really didn't think he wanted to go there. "Sammy?" he called out, hoping that the kid hadn't gotten cheese everywhere yet. On the other hand, though, that might have been easier to track than the elusive blonde head.

"Dean!" a young voice crowed, but Dean had no idea where it was coming from.

"Sammy, where are you?" he called again, hoping that the kid wouldn't think this was a game. "You need to come out now, Sammy," he tried when there was no answer. "Sammy?" Now he was starting to go a little crazy, pulling out the sparse furniture and ripping blankets off the beds. "SAMMY!" he yelled in a panic.

There was a flutter of wings near him, and a hand coming from just out of his reach pointed to the closet he had somehow overlooked. He ran for the closet, Cas right behind him, and opened it with a jerk to reveal the impish face and blonde hair Dean had been looking for.

Sammy clapped his hands and giggled. "You found me!" he squealed.

Dean scooped him up and held him close for a long moment before a throat being cleared reminded him that the angel was still there. Sammy was facing Cas and apparently Cas was actually entertaining the four year old, going by the amount of giggles.

"Dean," Sam whined playfully, "who is it?"

Dean frowned. "Sammy, I thought you knew Cas?"

There was a laugh behind him, and he whirled around to face… Not Cas? Terror flitted across his face, and he grabbed Sammy closer.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked, remembering how Cas had said there were angels that wanted to kill Dean. He could only assume that Sammy was on that list now too, but he was completely trapped.

The angel just smirked and spread his arms. "Hello to you too, Dean! Now if you'll excuse me, I was making faces at you adorable brother."

Dean tensed. "You don't talk to him, you don't talk about him, and you don't even open your mouth in his near vicinity unless you want to tell me who the hell you are and what you're doing here," he demanded.

He loosened his grip on Sammy, afraid of scaring his brother any more, but he kept him turned away from the unidentified angel.

"Well, well, well. They weren't kidding upstairs, you know. You do have quite a way about you! You know, I'd been away for a while, so I wasn't up on all the news, but just five minutes in heaven and I know all there is to know about you! Obviously, I had to come down and see for myself because anyone who my brothers hate so fiercely has to be halfway decent, and you're just lucky I showed up when I did," the angel answered, rambling on a bit.

"Castiel," Dean called, wondering when the angel had left anyway, "I could use an angel blade about now!"

In a split second, Cas was in front of Dean, shoving him back and drawing his weapon.

"Cassie?" the other angel asked, apparently thinking this whole scene was hilarious, adorable, or a mixture of both.

Cas's blade clattered to the ground, and he took a step back in disbelief. "Balthazar?"

* * *

Thanks for reading and reviewing! *hint, hint*

Seriously, guys, reviews make my day!

~Hugs and chocolate!

Hailee


	6. Simple Man

"_Cassie?" the other angel asked, apparently thinking this whole scene was hilarious, adorable, or a mixture of both._

_Cas's blade clattered to the ground, and he took a step back in disbelief. "Balthazar?"_

"So you two know each other?" Dean asked in disbelief, shocked when Castiel completely ignored him to talk to this "Balthazar" character some more. He caught some "Been too long" and "Missed you too" before they slipped into Enochian.

"Well, I guess we know when we aren't wanted, huh, Sammy?" he asked, hoisting the kid higher on his hip.

Sammy just mumbled something unintelligible, and Dean sighed and walked away, carrying his brother over to the kitchen counter so he could make some hot dogs.

To say he was startled by the hand on his shoulder would be an understatement.

"Dean? I need to speak to you for a moment," Cas was saying hesitantly.

"Is this about my brother?" Dean asked, confused as to why the angel was acting like this.

Cas shuffled his feet a little. "Yeah, it's, um, it's complicated, Dean."

Dean nodded. "Well, you just said he was missing something and then turned him into a four year old, about a tenth of his size. I think complicated is an understatement."

The angel nodded. "You're right, Dean. This is definitely beyond complicated, and it is questionable that we'll be able to-"

"Cassie!" the dick-ier anger cut in. "Let's try doing this more, I don't know, human style?" he suggested, cocking an eyebrow.

"And just who put you in charge?" Dean asked. "I mean, who the hell are you, anyway? You aren't doing shit to my brother unless I say it's okay!"

The cocky angel smirked. "Ah, so many jokes I could make, Dean-o! But I'll settle for reminding you that if you want your brother back to, well, normal, you're going to have to leave it to the professionals."

"Professional? How many cases of unage-ments have you ever dealt with?" Dean spat back.

Balthazar shrugged. "The point is, I'm an angel, you're an amateur."

"I'm a hunter, and I've yet to meet the sonuvabitch I can't gank, especially when Sammy's involved," Dean returned.

"Well, I've been around since the dawn of time, and you're puny."

"I'm a thirty year old high school drop-out, and I could beat your ass any day."

"I'm an angel of the lord."

"There is no lord."

"Dean!" Cas interrupted, looking at his older brother.

Balthazar shrugged. "I wasn't going to argue that point, little bro. He's got a valid argument going for him. I mean, he's a weak ass human with no experience in the angelic realm, and he's blind where it comes to his brother, but he's right about one thing: our father is not in heaven."

"Well now that we've got that out of the way," Dean clarified, "What's going on, Cas? What does this dick head have to do with my brother?"

Cas tilted his head. "Balthazar has some very important ideas that could completely heal Sam, Dean. Why are you still insulting him?"

"I don't know," Dean yelled, exasperated. "Maybe it's because I still have no idea what this brilliant plan even entails!"

"Oh, he's right, Cas!" Balthazar suddenly remembered. "We never told him what's going on!"

Dean gestured wildly with one hand as the other snapped out to catch Sammy, who had nodded off during the argument. "And you wonder why I keep insulting him? He wants to do god knows what to my brother, and he hasn't even told me the whole plan yet!"

"Dean, calm down before you drop your brother," Cas ordered.

"Yeah, Dean, ya little bitch," Balthazar taunted.

Two pairs of eyes swung toward him, one murderous, one very confused. He sighed. "You'll understand when you're older," he promised.

"Oh, I understand right now," Dean responded with definite venom in his voice.

Balthazar clapped his hands. "So you're there already? I get so confused, you know, with all of time and space. 'Where you want to go?' and all, you know?"

There was a solitary moment of silence before Dean exploded. "What the fuck is your problem? What are you even talking about? Who gave you the right to waltz into my life, scare my brother, and allude to my future in some kind of vague term that's going to totally not clear anything up? You're a sick piece of trash, and if you don't start helping my brother real quick, I'm going to stab you through the fucking heart. Angel or not, you're gonna feel it."

Balthazar choked. "I'm sorry, Dean, but the urge to make a 'that's what he said' joke is just way too strong. Honestly, between the sexual tension and the obvious innuendoes, I'm having a hard time believing that you really haven't considered it. But on to your brother, of course." He waved off Dean's furious protest and glanced at Cas. Well, he glanced at where Cas had been standing.

"Cas?" Dean called out anxiously. "Oh great, this is just perfect. I'm stuck with the most perverted asshole as my only chance at saving my brother from who knows what while my best friend just abandoned me and I have to start working early because we just ganked Captain Hook. Hey, smartass!" he called, trying to catch Balthazar's attention.

"Huh? Oh, what?"

Dean smirked. "Very attractive. What's so important?"

Balthazar let a sly grin cover the startled expression on his face. "Well, I was listening to Cassie's private channel on angel radio, and it was very, um, enlightening. Dean? Did you kiss my brother?"

Dean groaned. "He was panicking, I was out of options, and slapping wasn't working. It worked, okay? He's breathing."

"Instead of pointing out that we don't have to breathe, I should mention that Cassie is now very confused because he doesn't want you to get the wrong impression, but he also doesn't want you guys to stop being friends. I must admit, I'm touched, but I do have a question. What made my little brother panic so badly that you had to kiss him to get him to snap out of it?"

Dean sighed. "Well, it started when he realized that he hadn't fixed anything, and it just escalated from there until we got where we are now, and my brother would really appreciate being six foot four again, so if you could work some mojo, that'd be nice."

"Before I start, you should understand that I expect you to clear things up with my brother. You seem like a good guy, Dean; you should understand why I don't want anything to happen to my brother, and your life expectancy is longer than mine at this point, so you have to look out for him, okay?" Balthazar asked, deathly serious.

"Um, how about we start, and if you tell me why your precious brother hadn't seen you in millennia, I'll promise to protect him," Dean suggested.

Balthazar shrugged. "No deal. I'll start, you'll protect him. That's just who we are. I want you to promise to tell him what CPR is instead of letting him imagine all the expectations you have for him now."

Dean groaned. "Fine, whatever. Can we move on to my brother now?" he begged.

Balthazar sighed and nodded, drawing an angel blade and placing it near his palm. "I am extremely skilled at incantations. While I don't know what Cassie managed to do yet, this will protect your brother and, if Cassie did something extremely simple, reverse his spell. Okay?"

Dean nodded.

Balthazar pulled the blade across his hand, muttering in Latin, "Sana quod est sáucium. Mutare consilium fatum . Salvum deperditi . Reportat quod fuit. Quid fuit." He caught the blood that trickled out in a vial from… from somewhere before briefly making a fist to heal his hand. "Alright, little Sammy, time to wake up and take our medicine," he called with a bright gleam in his eyes.

"Whoa!" Dean said, holding up his hand. "You're actually trying to feed him your blood? That's sick!"

"It's infused with grace and enchanted, Dean, but I can disguise it if you'd prefer," Balthazar offered.

"Yeah, I'd prefer that my baby brother not have to drink straight angel blood," Dean agreed, thoroughly disgusted. He didn't even mention the demon blood, trying to ignore that incident completely.

Balthazar shrugged and conjured a milkshake as the vial disappeared. "Wake up, Sammy," he tried again. This time it worked.

"Dean?" Sammy asked, ruefully rubbing his shoulder where Dean had been holding it.

"Hey there, little tyke. You want a milkshake?" Dean asked, motioning for Balthazar to vanish. Surprisingly, he obeyed.

Sammy cocked his head endearingly, similar to the way Cas would, although Cas is not endearing in the least, of course. "Did you make it, Dean?" he asked.

"Of course I did," Dean answered smoothly, running his hand over the long blond hair. "Drink up! Milkshakes solve everything!"

Sammy giggled and did as he was told.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. Bobby eventually came back and Dean was able to prove that he was not a woman anymore, to both of their reliefs. Sammy played and ate and played some more until about eight o clock, while Dean studied his script and handbook furiously and considered calling Tyler for his schedule. The kid needed some time to recuperate, though, and Samuel would probably be listening in anyway.

He finally finished learning all his lines by the time Sammy was starting to fall asleep, and he leaned back and closed his own eyes, just for a moment. He woke up to a shrill, pain-filled scream and was running to the source before his eyes were open.

"Sammy!" he yelled. "Sammy, are you okay?"

Bobby was already next to the sofa where Sammy was constricting in pain and flailing around alternately. He looked bigger, but Dean didn't remember a growth spurt ever being this painful. He dropped to his knees beside his brother and cradled Sammy's head in his hands, not caring about the occasional punch in the jaw from Sammy's untethered limbs.

"Hey, little brother, I've got you. You're gonna be okay. "I've got you." He murmured over and over.

Bobby was trying to hold Sammy's arms and legs down so he wouldn't hurt himself, but it wasn't working too well.

"What the hell is going on, Dean?" he asked as Sammy continued to scream and then abruptly stopped. Dean stood up, shaken, and walked away for a second.

"De," came a whimper from the sofa.

Dean immediately whirled around, locking away his emotions, to face a… five year old Sammy? "Sammy, how do you feel?" he asked, rushing to his brother's side and lifting his head again.

"M'okay," Sammy shrugged noncommittally. "What's going on, Dean?"

"I don't know for sure, little brother," Dean started, "but I'm figuring it out real fast," he was quick to add. "In fact, you go to sleep, and I'm going to call-"

"Bal-zar?" Sammy asked, innocently butchering the angel's name.

Dean snorted. "Him? No, I'm calling Cas. You like Cas, right?" he asked.

Sammy nodded, pouting. "I like Balzar too," he pointed out.

"Well, Mr. Bazarro could be responsible for all that weird stuff that just happened, so we'll call Cas and then he can call Bazarro man if he wants, okay?"

Sammy agreed reluctantly.

"Okay, Cas, I hope you've got your ears on, man. Look, here's the thing: Balthazar did something to my brother, and," he was cut off by Sammy grabbing his arm, "What, Sammy?"

"You have to tell him who you are," Sammy fake-whispered.

Dean rolled his eyes. "How could I forget? Okay, Cas, it's Dean. I need your help, man. I mean, I really need you. Something else is going on with Sammy, and your" he covered Sammy's ears "fucking asshole of a" he uncovered them "brother made it worse. Okay, I get that you think things are going to be weird, but I promise they aren't. We won't even mention it again, okay? It happened, but I had to do it. I really didn't think I had any other options, man, but I couldn't lose you. You're one of the only friends I have," he ended the strange prayer.

He hadn't meant to confess like that, but he was desperate for help, and he thought that maybe he had to apologize for the kiss before the angel would answer.

"Something you wanted to tell me, boy?" Bobby asked in surprise after the prayer ended.

Dean shook his head. "Not going to mention it, remember? Don't worry, it was nothing. We were both a little too girly earlier," he explained.

"Me, girly?" Bobby scoffed.

"No, me and Cas," Dean clarified just before the angel in question materialized in front of them.

"What's the problem, Dean?" he asked with a nod that Dean took to mean "apology accepted."

"It's Sammy. He was in a ton of pain, and then he woke up bigger. Is that supposed to happen?" Dean asked.

"Well," Cas thought, "it either means that Balthazar's treatment worked or that it failed miserably," he finally decided.

Dean stared at the angel. "So no in-between?" he asked.

Castiel shook his head.

"Well, when will you know which one it is?" Bobby interjected.

Cas shrugged. "It depends on what age you are comfortable with subjecting him to extreme pain," he answered matter-of-factly.

"Never!" Dean answered immediately. "Is there any less painful way?"

Cas shook his head. "In either case, he will continue to age one year a day, so you have just under two weeks until he's making decisions for himself again," he answered calmly.

Dean groaned. "Well, thanks anyway, Cas," he said lamely.

Cas nodded. "And thank you, Dean," he added just before disappearing on the spot.

Bobby gave Dean a cursory glance before looking back at Sammy, now fast asleep again. "You sure you don't want to tell me what that was about?" he asked.

Dean nodded.

Bobby sighed. "Ya damn idjit," he muttered. "Well, have it your way. Enjoy your kindergartener and your new job."

"oh, about that," Dean remembered.

"What?" Bobby asked.

"Would you mind babysitting for, like, eight days?" Dean asked. "Then he'll be a teenager and we won't have to worry anymore, but I can't leave him and I can't take him, so you'll watch him right?"

Bobby looked at the pile of books he was planning on reading to research Sammy's predicament and realized that with an active little boy on his hands, he wasn't going to get anything done.

"Balls!"

* * *

PM me if you want to know what Balthy said, or leave a comment in the reviews!

(Trust me, you're going to want to know this one.)

What do you think about Dean and Balthazar connecting as big brothers?

I'll try to post again soon, and reviews make me post even faster!

-Hugs and Chocolate!

Hailee


	7. Rock of Ages

_**A/N**: I was planning on updating sooner, but Balthazar just refused to cooperate, and in the end, we had to compromise: I had to give him a whole scene featuring himself, or he wouldn't tell me what he did to Sam. No worries, our favorite cosplayer and his baby brother also feature heavily in this one, so without further ado..._

* * *

"Wandering in the wilderness, Castiel? Isn't that more the role of the apes?" Balthazar asked, appearing next to his little brother, who was staring aimlessly into empty space. "Where are we, anyway?"

Castiel sighed. "While I neither understand nor appreciate what you would call humorous quips, your predictable nature dictates that, should I open myself up for a sarcastic attack, you could not resist the urge to deliver it." He turned to his dumbfounded brother. "We need to talk, Balthazar."

Balthazar sniffed the air. "Hmm, Kansas, 1849. Good call, little bro. There's no one here!"

"What did you do to Sam?" Castiel asked, ignoring his brother's response. "Dean is worried, and I don't know what to tell him."

Balthazar cocked an eyebrow. "Well, maybe I should just explain it to Tall, Dark, and Handsome myself?" he offered.

"If you insist," Castiel sighed, a little bit too fast.

With a sigh, Balthazar snapped his fingers and the wide expanse of waving grass faded into a very modern scene.

Balthazar leaned back in his seat and folded his hands on top the desk, trying not to laugh at Castiel, who was confused as to why he was suddenly lying on a leather couch on top of a skyscraper in the middle of a metropolitan area.

"So, little bro, what's going on with Dean? Come on, get it off your chest. You'll feel better, I promise!" he prodded.

Castiel sat up and glared at Balthazar, ruffling his feathers so that the older angel got the point. "And that's why you brought me to the top of a building with a view that looks remarkably like the time I didn't learn to fly?" he asked accusingly.

"Castiel," Balthazar tried soothingly, slightly startled. He'd forgotten about that day. It was his first and only time teaching fledglings. Apparently, Gabriel lost faith in him after having to revive Castiel. "I'm sorry, little brother. I wasn't thinking. I really didn't mean to remind you. I can put my office somewhere else, but most angels find it soothing among the clouds."

"You didn't mean to remind me?" Castiel asked, laughing. "You threw me off the Empire State Building before I knew how to fly, Balthazar. I died! An archangel had to revive me, and I still have skid marks on my wings from the pavement! You didn't have to remind me; my black wings do that every day, okay? You failed me that day, and you do not get to swoop in and be the hero now. This is my mess, and I'm going to clean it up myself, so please just get tell me what you did and I'll go take care of everything."

Balthazar sighed. "Are you sure you want to face Lover Boy?" he asked, knowing what reaction it would get him.

Sure enough, Castiel's strong façade suddenly disappeared. His shoulders slumped, his wings wilted and trailed on the floor, and he sat back down on the couch quietly. "Don't call him that," he argued without conviction. "There isn't anything like that going on, okay, Balthazar?"

It was Balthazar's turn to bristle up. "What the actual fuck, Cassie! The hell did he do to you? I swear to Chuck, if he hurt you," Balthazar trailed off, the older brother syndrome temporarily making him forget that he was suggesting that a scrawny human had hurt an all-powerful, angelic warrior.

"He didn't hurt me," Castiel answered immediately, looking affronted. "He would never do that! You don't know anything about him, Brother, which is yet another reason why you should not be involved in this scenario at all!"

"Well, if I hadn't gotten involved, what would you have done?" Balthazar asked, really trying to not be smug.

Castiel sighed. "I was getting to that, but the point is that he was safe in that body so I could work on finding a cure."

"A cure for what?" Balthazar asked.

"I wasn't entirely sure, but I think," Castiel winced, "I think I left his soul in the Pit."

Balthazar froze, and the illusion around them shattered, dumping both of them onto the floor of the warehouse they'd actually been in the whole time. "He was in the Pit?" Balthazar asked, in a low voice, dusting the warehouse grime off his jeans. "For how long?"

"Don't you listen to angel radio?" Castiel asked, giving up on having a clean trench coat in disgust. "Michael and Lucifer's true vessels are Dean and Sam, Sam said yes and overpowered Lucifer, and they jumped into the Pit. Anyway, does it matter?"

"Of course it matters! If his soul is still down there, it can't go back into his body, like, ever! That would kill him! Well! This kind of complicates/uncomplicates things," he admitted.

Castiel frowned. "You have never wanted to interact with the human race before, Balthazar. Even in your illusions, you are careful to place yourself high above them. Why do you care about Sam's soul in the first place? In fact, why are you even here? You've done enough damage, Brother."

"Stop saying that," Balthazar argued. "I'm trying to help our brothers in heaven, okay? I don't appreciate conflict, so I'm holding weekly family counseling sessions. You're welcome to join, but I'd like to have a week or two to prepare them first, okay? And as far as Sam's soul goes, what's not to like? As an adult, he was quite the looker. As a kid, he's adorable as shit, and even you can't deny that, you feelingless freak. Besides, he's Luci's true vessel! That's pretty special, huh? You just don't understand me, little brother. Sure, I don't care for the human race, but every once in a while, there will be a special one who deserves more attention. Now, Dean has your attention, so that leaves Sam for me, although in a very different way, I'd imagine."

"Just stop, Brother. While Dean and I do share a more profound bond, our relationship is strictly platonic and always will be, despite your jabs. There is no reason for you to continue teasing me or prodding for information because there is nothing else. That's it!" Castiel finally exploded.

Ignoring the somewhat ominous sound of crackling grace, Balthazar pushed for more information because this was news to him. "More profound bond, Cassie? When did that happen?"

Castiel sighed. "Honestly, Balthazar, did you even know that you have a way of communicating with our brothers?" he asked. "Dean and I first met when I rescued him from Hell after he started the apocalypse. Sound familiar?"

Balthazar nodded, understanding flooding his face. "So that's where the rest of the black came from?" he asked. "Because, I knew that your wings were not that black because of me, so it makes more sense now! Hell tainted your wings too, huh? Damn, Castiel, have you had any friends who didn't leave a mark on you?"

Castiel matched his gaze evenly. "Actually, that was not the bond I was referring to. I left my own mark on him as well this time. Even if he falls in love with a human and abandons his post, he won't forget who he owes it to, right, Brother?"

Balthazar sighed. "Castiel," he began.

"Save your breath, Brother. There is nothing more to be said on that subject. Tell me about Sam," Castiel demanded.

Balthazar dropped his head. "I enchanted some of my grace to interact with his soul and age him to his correct age, okay?"

Castiel nodded, slightly impressed. "You will have to teach me that spell," he requested bluntly.

"Ah, Cassie, always the curious one. Of course I will, little brother, but we do have a problem. If he does not have a soul for the grace to interact with, then the aging process will not stop at the correct time and he will die."

Castiel nodded. "Yes, he will, but you also said that this somehow makes things less complicated, didn't you? What did you mean by that?"

Balthazar sighed. "Look, Sam's soul is being tortured, and it is undoubtedly too damaged to be returned to him. I only see one other option."

Castiel nodded, eyes wide. "Of course. I understand. But Balthazar," he added as the other seemed to be about to fly away, "be careful with the angels, will you? If you help them too much, they'll start to see you as a leader, and then you'll be in real trouble."

The cocky grin was back in place as Balthazar snapped his fingers and disappeared with a puff of smoke, which then formed the words, "Thanks for the warn, li'l bro."

Castiel shook his head. "He always was so dramatic," he sighed out loud to no one in particular before noticing a strange silence surrounding two of Dean's worst enemies in heaven and hurrying to apprehend them before they did something they'd regret, like hurting his charge.

***SPN***

"Dean! You're home! Do you wanna play Go Fish with me and Uncle Bobby? Please, Dean? Can't we play a game? We haven't played all day!"

Dean walked in the door of the crappy motel room only to be assaulted by his little brother. Glancing at the clock, he sighed in relief. "I'm sorry, Sammy, I had to work today." He grabbed the blond terror and tossed him "high" in the air, turning Sammy's pout into a giggle. "Did you eat dinner?"

Sammy nodded. "Uncle Bobby and me had hot dogs! Why do you have to work?"

Dean groaned. "Sammy, I can't help it, okay? Now, what did you do all day?"

Sammy looked crestfallen, and Dean realized that he'd spoken more harshly than he had intended. "Look, buddy, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to be angry. I know you want me to stay home, and I want to stay home, too. In fact," Dean put his brother on the ground and knelt in front of him so they stayed on the same level, "the reason I was upset was because I missed you all day."

Sammy smiled again. "Really? I missed you all day too!" He threw his slightly chubby arms around Dean's neck and held on tight. "So you aren't ever going away again, are you?" he asked when he finally decided that the hug was over.

Dean wasn't complaining about being hugged this time, though. It was somewhat heartbreaking to flash back to when Sammy was little and Dean was his hero.

"Uh, buddy, you know I have to go to work every day. We talked about it this morning, remember? Uncle Bobby will stay with you though, and you don't have to worry about anything, okay?" He looked at the older hunter, who had been a silent observer up to this point.

"Of course I'll be here," Bobby quickly agreed, and Dean smiled his thanks before returning his attention to Sammy, whose lower lip was now trembling.

Honestly, he'd had to deal with rude, spoiled kids all day, and it had only made him miss Ben and Lisa like crazy. He missed Sam too, but he missed the twenty-six year old version that would have made fun of him until he exploded and let off some steam, not this five year old version that was only adding fuel to the fire.

Dean took a deep, calming breath, reminding himself that Sammy was crying because he loved Dean, and sat back on the floor, pulling Sammy onto his lap. Sammy immediately latched onto the front of Dean's shirt and started sobbing into it.

"But I don't want you to leave me again, Dean! I wanna go with you! Blease don' leabe me, De!" Sammy screamed, his tears beginning to interfere with his speech.

Dean had been planning on just holding Sammy in his lap until the tears stopped and then having a nice, calming conversation until he aged another year, but the last request changed everything. "Sammy!" he said in shock, grabbing his brother's shoulders, and rocking him gently to try to calm him down, at least past this near-hysteria. "Sammy, listen to me, buddy. Hey, hey! Stop this, okay? I'm going to come back, Sam! I'm always going to come back, I promise! Okay? I'm never leaving you for real, okay? I'll only be gone for a couple hours, and Uncle Bobby will be here the whole time. Now you've gotta calm down, okay? I'm right here, and whenever you need me, I'll be right there! I promise! Come on, buddy!"

When Sammy only screamed louder, going rigid in Dean's hold, Dean looked at Bobby helplessly, surprised to see him smirking. "What's funny about this?" Dean asked, barely managing to keep most of his ire out of his voice.

"Well, considerin the fact that you sound more panicked than Sammy at the moment, I can understand why you can't calm him down," Bobby pointed out.

Dean sighed and let go of Sammy's shoulders, wrapping his arms around the tense little body instead, and holding his close. "Hey there," he began again in a lower, soothing tone, "hey, buddy, you're alright. I'm here, Sammy. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. I promise you, I'll never really leave you. Okay, bud? Hey, little guy. Yeah, I need you to calm down now or you're going to pass out, okay? We don't want that. Uncle Bobby and I want our little buddy to stay conscious, so can you stop screaming for me, please?"

As Dean spoke, Sammy slowly began to relax into the hold, and eventually the volume of his screams died down until all that could be heard was a hiccough-y whimper as Sammy muffled his face in Dean's shirt again.

Dean still held onto him comfortingly, rubbing his back while answering every whimper with a gentle assurance. Some part of him was wondering if he could have avoided a shit ton of drama by trying this with Cas instead of kissing him.

Eventually, even the whimpers stopped, and Dean looked down at his brother, fully intending to finally reassure him once and for all that he would never leave forever. Instead, he found that Sammy had worn himself out, and he was fast asleep in Dean's lap. His head resting against his big brother, he had handfuls of Dean's shirt in a death grip as if he was afraid Dean would try to slip away while he was sleeping. Dean shook his head with a smile, gently brushing a bit of the slightly damp hair out of his baby brother's face, and looked up at Bobby with a shrug.

"What did I tell ya?" Bobby asked with a smug smirk. "Anyway, if you're staying in front of the door, I'm taking this bed. Watchin a five year old all day will wear you out."

Dean sighed and leaned back against the door, wrapping his arms a little closer around Sammy before allowing himself to drift off as well.

For twenty minutes, the only sound in the room was slow breathing, punctuated by the occasional sniffle.

Then, Balthazar's present kicked back in, and all hell broke loose.

It wasn't the first time Dean had been woken up by a fist to the face, and he barely remembered what was going on in time. Instead of jumping up or punching back, he tightened his hold on Sammy even more, keeping his arms from swinging as much. There wasn't anything to be done about his legs, though, and the screaming was back.

"Cas!" Dean yelled over the sound of this brother, in pain for the umpteenth time.

The angel appeared immediately, for once, and seemed to understand the situation instantly. He took Sam out of Dean's arms and did something mojo-y that either made Sam silent or made Dean deaf. Either way, Dean was grateful that he no longer had to hear his brother in pain. Just watching his face screw up as he emitted what would have been ear-piercing screams was painful enough, and seeing him flail desperately, trying to get away from the pain, was even worse.

Dean tried very hard to stay for Sammy, but there were only so many times a guy could watch his little brother in pain, and Dean found himself running out the door and through the parking lot until he was out of sight of the security cameras. He punched a rotting fence post, feeling a sense of relief as the splinters flew, so he kept punching it, feeling somewhat better.

When the rush of wings alerted him to the presence of an angel, he whirled around to plant a couple good punches on the angel. Obviously, it wouldn't be Cas.

"'Ello, Dean," Balthazar smirked, recoiling slightly as the fist connected with his jaw. "Oh, that's how we're playing, huh?"

Dean growled. "You unbelieveable ASS!" he yelled, throwing all his pent up frustrations into his futile attack on the celestial being. "You're hurting my brother, you dick! Can you hear him from here? He's the one screaming in agony!"

Balthazar just stood there, taking every hit as Dean angrily punched and kicked and elbowed. The more he punched and the more Balthazar didn't even sway, the angrier Dean got, and he spent all his energy on trying to hurt the dick angel until he collapsed, completely exhausted, tears streaming out of his eyes. "Take me back to my brother," he gasped out, totally out of breath.

Balthazar just nodded and touched Dean's forehead. Sam was still screaming and flailing in Cas's arms, but Dean slumped down next to Cas and held out his arms with an effort. Cas nodded and gently placed Sam back in Dean's arms, looking up at Balthazar, who shifted his feet slightly.

"Dean," Balthazar said hesitantly, the first words to break the silence in a long time, "you need to understand. I'm truly sorry for the pain that this is causing your brother. I never meant to hurt him. I thought that the end would justify the means, and everyone would be happy in the end. I don't usually apologize to humans, so Castiel can tell you just how serious I am." He looked at Dean pleadingly.

Dean nodded, too exhausted to do anything else. Sammy's fist slammed into Dean's chest, just like it had ever since Cas had given him back to Dean, but this time, the fist stopped moving. A second later, all of Sammy's limbs had gone limp, and Dean mustered up the strength to pull the mostly six year old completely into his arms again.

Apparently, Cas had lifted the silence spell thingie because once Sammy opened his eyes, Dean could hear him whimpering again.

"_Hurts,_ De," Sammy whimpered.

Cas leaned over both of them and touched his fingers to their foreheads. "I can't stop the pain of the transformation, Dean, but I can ease the after effects. And I can give you your strength back."

Dean nodded, and suddenly a rush of energy flooded through him. He pulled Sammy closer, and the six year old snuggled against his big brother.

"Love you, Dean," he murmured.

"Love you too, buddy," Dean assured him before looking back up at the room's other occupants. "Thank you, Cas. And Balthazar," he didn't have words, so he just nodded again, and the angel returned the nod, a bit of a cocky grin back in place.

"If you ever hurt my little brother again, though," Dean added warningly, only half playing.

Balthazar nodded seriously. "Noted, and ditto," he commented with a nod toward Castiel.

Dean nodded firmly.

"Well, ain't this all hunky-dory and shit," Bobby muttered sarcastically. "How long do we have to do this?"

Dean sighed, glancing down at his once-again sleeping brother. "Well, he's six now, and he was twenty-six before, so three more weeks of this shit."

Bobby nodded and sighed. "I need a drink."

"I think we all do," someone said, and no one disagreed.

For a minute, everything was good. Sammy was asleep on Dean's lap, and the other four were savoring the drinks Bobby never left home without.

Then, Cas had to go save Dean's ass from a potential angel attack, Balthazar had a group counseling session, and Dean had to go to sleep if he was going to wake up in time for work.

In the end, it was just Bobby, drink in hand, watching over his boys and praying to anyone listening that it would all be over soon.

* * *

Thanks for reading and reviewing! xox

-Hugs and chocolate!

Hailee


	8. TNT

"Dean, do you have a minute?" Bobby asked as Dean was getting ready to go to work. Dean nodded and looked up from the book he'd been reading to Sammy.

"Right now? Or can we wait to find out if the Little Red Hen's friends learn to help out first?" he asked, both him and Bobby doing a double take as the question sunk in.

Bobby shook his head. "Finish reading your story," he assented, muttering "Damn domestication" under his breath.

Dean smirked and looked down at Sammy, who was trying to read ahead but couldn't quite get the whole idea from the pictures.

That gave Dean an idea of something to talk to Bobby about when they had their "minute," and he smiled down at his little brother. "Okay, Sammy, where were we? Did the Big Bad Wolf huff and puff and blow the house down yet?"

Sammy, who had already perfected a bitch face at age six, chose this moment to give a demonstration of that fact. "That's not this story, Dean," he sighed.

Dean smiled down at him. "I know, Sammy. I'm just messing with you, bud! Come on, let's read the real story, okay?" Trying not to think about the answer he'd almost tossed out (something along the lines of "Sometimes it's okay to have a story with no monsters"), Dean suffered patiently through another chorus of "Not I" said the whole freakin barnyard. "And the other animals learned that they have to earn their food if they want to eat it," he finished smoothly, closing the book, "but why doesn't Sammy have to worry about that just yet?"

"Because Sammy has Dean," the six year old grinned, hugging his big brother.

"That's right, buddy. But Dean does have to work for his food, and he needs to talk to Bobby first, so how about Sammy brushes his teeth with the new toothbrush he and Uncle Bobby bought yesterday and then he can give Dean a hug goodbye. Sound like a plan?"

"Mhmm!" Sammy nodded emphatically, climbing off of Dean's lap and running toward the motel room's bathroom.

Dean stood up from his seat and stretched for a minute. "What's up, Bobby?" he asked.

"It was just something I noticed," Bobby said slowly, almost like he was unsure of what he was trying to say.

Yeah, okay," Dean agreed. "So what did you notice?

"Okay, don't take this the wrong way, which I know you will anyway, but does this Sam look different than the other six year old Sam to you?" Bobby asked.

Dean nodded seriously. "I know what you mean, Bobby, and you're right. I'm going to take it the wrong way, because that's who I am, but actually getting three solid meals a day every day is actually putting meat on his bones, and he doesn't look half as scrawny as he did back then. He's heavier too, which keep throwing me off."

Bobby nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't know how bad it was, boy," he tried to apologize.

"Bobby Singer, you stop it right now. You have been a father to me and Sam for a lot longer than we've appreciated it, and I don't think we could ever say how much that means to us, but you were never responsible for feeding us every day," Dean answered firmly.

Bobby noted the "us" and something clicked. "Dean, what did you have for dinner last night?" he asked.

Dean shrugged. "That scotch?"

Bobby shook his head. "You guys are so fucked up, you know that?"

Dean smiled ruefully. "That's what I mean, Bobby. You always know exactly what to say."

"Dean," Bobby cut in firmly, "Sammy is getting enough food. You have to eat, okay? We can wait on dinner until you get back if he gets an extra snack this afternoon, and you can see for yourself that he's eating just fine. You hear me?"

Dean just grinned. "You just don't want to have to be the one reminding Sammy to use his good table manners."

"Like you're any better," Bobby shot back.

Dean sighed. "Okay, there was something I wanted to talk to you about. While you're here today, do you think you could see how much Sammy can read at this point? I can't remember when exactly he really took off, but if you find out where he is, you'll probably get some peace and quiet."

Bobby snorted suddenly.

"What?" Dean asked, turning around and making that nothing was behind him making funny faces. "Bobby, what's so funny?"

"Oh, it's just, there's a sure-fire way to get him to sit down and shut up, and you know it!" Bobby answered, still chuckling.

Dean frowned for a second, then he remembered. "Oh hell no, Bobby. Don't you do that to me!"

Bobby shrugged. "How should I say this, uh, too late?" he asked. "I picked it up yesterday when I got the library books, and he loved it."

Dean groaned and dropped his head in his hands. "Just perfect. You didn't tell him what I do though, did you?

"No, but you should know that he thinks Peter Pan is scary, so he cheers for Captain Hook every time."

"I know he does," Dean admitted, flushing slightly. "That's half the reason I took the jo- wait. Every time? How many times-"

"Just three," Bobby assured him.

"Dean, catch me!" Sammy yelled from the bathroom door, interrupting the lets-embarrass-Dean convention by running at it at breakneck speed. Dean leaned down and braced himself, catching the six year old fireball effortlessly and swinging him around until he squealed.

"Alright, little man, gimme a real hug. I've gotta go to work, but I'll be back before you know it, okay?" Dean asked, holding out his arms.

Sammy threw his hands around Dean's middle and squeezed tight. "What if I don't ever, ever let you go?" he asked, looked up innocently.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Then I'll have to go to work wearing you, Sammy, and everybody would laugh at me!"

"Oh," Sammy said sadly. "Well, goodbye then."

"Goodbye, little tyke," Dean answered, messing up Sammy's bed head with a grin.

Sammy tried to not grin and wriggled out of the hold. "Deean!" he whined. "Don't do that!"

Dean grinned. "See you guys later."

Early mornings were becoming the highlight of his day. After that, it was a long day in a hot costume taking pictures with spoiled kids and doing weird skits with other guys who weren't Tyler.

***SPN***

Bobby sighed as the door closed behind Dean. As lonely as it got, he definitely missed the days when all he had to do was read and take phone calls. Living with a hyper little kid in a cramped motel room was not the best experience he'd ever had, but this was Sam. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for this boy.

"Come on, Sam. Let's read a book," he offered, walking toward the chair Dean had vacated. When there was no response, he glanced back at the door to see the six year old sitting cross-legged in front of the door, chin resting on his fists, looking expectantly past the door.

"Sam?" Bobby asked, walking back over to the kid and slowly lowering himself next to him. "What's going on, buddy?"

Sam immediately leaned over and curled up against Bobby, wrapping his arms around the older hunter's waist. "When's Dee coming back, Uncle Bobby?" he asked quietly.

Bobby sighed. "Is that what this is about?" he asked incredulously. Sam immediately pulled back, a hurt expression on his face. "Hey, hey, it's okay, Sam," Bobby amended, reaching toward him again. Sam turned away, crossing his arms with a pout, but Bobby heard the sniffle and saw his little shoulders start to tremble.

Taking a deep breath, with an inner reminder to be patient, Bobby reached over and lifted Sam into his arms, reseating him in his lap. Sam responded by hiding his face in the older hunter's shirt and trying to muffle his sobs.

Wishing for the umpteenth time that this wasn't reality, Sam was still twenty-eight, and all Bobby had to do was gruffly tell him to pull himself together for god's sake, Bobby sighed softly and rubbed Sam's back.

"Hey, it's okay, kid. You miss your brother, I know, but he's coming back. I promise. Now, when he gets back, he's going to want to know what you did all day. Do you want to tell him that you sat here and waited, or should we go do something fun?"

"He's right, you know," a cocky voice with a British accent made Bobby and Sam both whirl around to face the intruder. Bobby groaned, but Sam jumped up excitedly and ran toward the angel.

"Balt'zar!" he crowed, holding his arms out.

Balthazar froze for a moment, then he remembered himself and smiled broadly, crouching down to catch the kid. "Hey, Sammy," he forced a light laugh, messing up the kid's hair before pulling his hand back sharply.

Sam giggled. "Can we do something fun? I have to tell Dean about it!"

Balthazar looked helplessly at Bobby, but the hunter pointedly ignored him, muttering something about "cocky angels needing to learn not to stick their noses where they don't belong" as he walked over toward his research.

"Do you want to play with Balthazar while Uncle Bobby does some research?" he asked, a smile on his face as the disconcerted angel tried to signal for him to stop talking.

It was too late, though. Sam was jumping up and down and nodding enthusiastically. "Can we go to the zoo and see the Grand Canyon and, no, wait, we have to wait for Dean to see that. Can we go to the ocean and see a shark? Do you think we can go to Neverland? Oh! Let's go all the way to the moon! Can we go to the moon, Balt'zar? And then go to Africa?"

Balthazar sighed very slowly and stood up while Sam chattered on and on about all the things he wanted to do. "Well," he attempted, "I'm sure your Uncle Bobby will have some restrictions as to how far you can go."

Bobby looked up. "Stay on this planet, stay in this time period, stay in this plane, and stop for lunch and an afternoon snack," he counted off on his fingers. "Have fun, ya idjits."

Balthazar groaned. "Isn't there some time you want him home by?" he asked, wincing as he heard what he'd just asked.

Bobby smirked. "If you could possibly use your angel mojo and bring him back approximately ten seconds before Dean walks in, I'm sure we'd all appreciate it," he answered.

Balthazar glared daggers, but the hunter had returned to his lore and history, so he looked back at the enthusiastic six year old.

Sam looked like he was about to burst, so Balthazar sighed and grabbed his hand. "Okay, kiddo, let's do this."

With an elaborate snap of his fingers, they were at Chuck E. Cheese's with pockets full of tokens. Sam stood stock still for a full minute, staring straight ahead at what could only be described as a kid's heaven. (Balthazar knew, he'd been hiding in one for a few years.) Then reality set in, and a huge smile broke out across the kid's face as he took off at top speed with a personal mission to win every game.

Balthazar sighed and walked over to the tables where a couple other parents were sitting. One of them, a fairly cute guy with an obvious headache, caught his attention immediately. Surreptitiously summoning a bottle of ibuprofen to his pocket, he casually walked over to the man and slid the bottle across the table.

The man looked up quickly and smiled at the sight of the medicine, smiling a little brighter when he saw the guy that had brought it.

Balthazar shrugged. "You look like you could use it," he explained. "Mind if I join you?"

The other man shook his head. "Not at all."

Balthazar's self-congratulatory grin was shattered by the shrill screaming that he'd only heard one time before, and then the realization set in and he took off running, the other man at his heels.

"What's going on?" the man asked breathlessly.

"I forgot he hates clowns," Balthazar called over his shoulder, cursing the fact that he couldn't just fly there and be done with it.

"BAAAAAAAZZAAAAAA!" Sam was screaming at the top of his lungs, and Balthazar headed that direction. It wasn't long at all before he saw the six year old, screaming and backing away from the large rat.

Balthazar ran past the unhelpful employee, shoving him over for good measure, and scooped his charge into his arms. Sam immediately gripped his jacket with all his might and hid his face in Balthazar's shirt.

Lifting the trembling six year old off the floor, Balthazar shot a glare at the rat, which was still there for some reason, and his new side kick got the idea.

"Hey, get out of here! Can't you see that you're scaring him?" the cute younger guy asked indignantly, stepping up the rat.

Balthazar was preoccupied with the screaming kid in his arms, but his angel senses suddenly went on high alert, and he looked up in terror only to recognize the true face of a demon behind the equally hideous mask.

"Let's go, Sammy," he murmured, teleporting them somewhere else.

***SPN***

"Bobby, where is Sam?" Cas asked without preamble, appearing in front of the gruff hunter.

Bobby sighed and tore himself away from his research. "He and Balthazar-"

"Balthazar has Sam?" Cas repeated. "Surely you didn't allow that? Do you even know how angry Dean will be when he finds out?"

"What's the big deal?" Bobby asked. "Balthazar is on our side, and he has the energy to keep up with Sam all day."

Cas rolled his eyes. "You understand, of course, that both of the brothers are the constant targets of a lot of angels right now because of the upset with the apocalypse. The news of this has spread to other races now, and many other beings are no longer afraid of attacking the Winchesters because they know that the angels will not be retaliating. Now, Sam is in a very vulnerable state, although he is still with my brother."

Bobby nodded. "I gathered from the way you're still here talking that everything is fine. What's the real emergency?"

Cas shook his head. "Sam and Balthazar are physically safe, but a trail of destruction and chaos is following them everywhere," he reported.

"Trail of destruction and chaos?" Bobby repeated incredulously.

"A demon blew up a Chuck E. Cheese's, a haunted skydiving plane crashed, a rollercoaster fell over, a poltergeist followed them to the zoo, a pack of werewolves is loose in Paris, a whole nest of vampires is on a mass-abduction spree in New York City, and twelve phantom pirate ships are pillaging again," Cas listed.

Bobby rolled his eyes and leaned back. "Did Sam get lunch?" he asked.

Cas frowned. "You are more concerned with Sam's eating habits than the utter destruction that is being caused?"

Bobby shrugged. "You're fighting an angel war in heaven. Dean is actually trying to make an honest living. Sam is six years old. Destruction is unavoidable, but his eating habits should not have to suffer for it," he stated.

Cas nodded solemnly. "I guess I can see how that makes more sense," he agreed. "Don't you think that Balthazar is too insensitive to be in charge of a young child? He took Sam to a clown place, and then onto an airplane!"

Bobby frowned. "Sam doesn't mind airplanes, Cas. What are you talking about?"

Cas froze for a moment and visibly backtracked. "The war in heaven is not going well," he stated randomly. "Raphael is determined to kill Sam and Dean, and it's becoming impossible for me to always protect them. If Balthazar wants to protect Sam, tell him that they have to stay here so that I know where to find them."

Bobby frowned. "If Balthazar is protecting Sam, then why does he have to tell you where to find him?" he questioned.

Cas sighed. "If Balthazar is protecting Sam, then I am protecting Dean. If Dean is stuck here, then so am I. If Dean knows that Balthazar and Sam are on a different continent, then he will not allow me to protect him. Despite his heightened ego, over confidence, and legitimate fighting skills, however, he cannot face an entire garrison on his own. Therefore, in order to protect Dean, Sam has to stay here."

"Or we could just not tell Dean," Bobby offered.

Cas stepped closer, anger burning in his eyes. "You would ask me to lie to the man I pulled from Hell and turned my back on my family for? You really think that I could betray him after all we've been through together? Who do you think I am, Bobby Singer?"

Bobby shook his head. "Well if you feel so strongly about it, I guess I can't question you. Still, don't you think it works better if I don't have to worry about keeping Sam cooped up in here all day?"

Cas sighed and relaxed a little. "You don't know my brother very well. He is not the person you want Sam to grow up around. He threw me off the Empire State Building to teach me to fly; can you imagine how he'll teach Sam to ride a bike?"

Bobby sighed. "I get what you're saying, Cas. I do. But all I'm hearing is that Sam is going to get to learn how to ride a bike. His life lessons can be centered around having fun and being a kid, and that's all I want for him. He's been through enough hell in his life. If he can have fun with Balthazar, I'm going to let him."

Cas nodded. "In that case, I will make sure that Balthazar understands the gravity of the situation, and you can tell Dean."

"Tell Dean what?" Dean asked, closing the door behind him. "Bobby, Cas," he acknowledged. "Where's Sammy?"

Bobby frowned. "Cas, where is Sam? I said to be back here ten seconds before Dean walked in the door. Why is he late?"

"Woah! What did Cas do with Sammy? Cas? Where is he?"

"I don't know, Dean. I didn't have him. I'm not sure how I should know the answer to this."

"Cas! Bring back my brother! Where the hell is he? Come on, man. I don't care what he looks like. I don't care if he's a fucking dinosaur. We'll figure it out, just bring him back!" Dean began to panic.

"Dean! Pull yourself together, ya idjit!" Bobby demanded. Dean immediately straightened up.

"Okay, Cas, what's going on?" he asked in a calm but deadly tone.

Cas tilted his head. "I don't understand, Dean. Why do you think I'm responsible for everything that happens to your brother?" he asked.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Half the time you are!" he argued. "Now are you going to answer me? Because I'm about to tear this fucking room apart!"

"Dean!" Bobby interjected again. "First of all, Sam is fine. Secondly-"

"How do you know? Where the hell is he? What are you even talking about? He's fine? No, fine would be right here, safe and sound, eating dinner. As far as I know, he's completely alone right now, so would somebody please tell me what's going on!"

"I'm trying, boy!" Bobby yelled back. "Dammit, I'm trying! Now shut your trap and listen to me for five minutes. Sam spent the day with Balthazar so that I could get some – you shut your mouth before I shut it for you, boy, I'm still talking – research done. He has been safe and perfectly fine all day, as Cas was just telling me. In fact, I'm considering letting them do it again. The only problem right now is that they're late getting back."

Dean glared at nothing in particular. "Cas?" he asked. "Where the hell is my brother?"

"I don't know, Dean," he answered honestly. "I placed sigils to hide both you and your brother from me, remember?"

Dean sighed. "Then how were you keeping tabs on him all day?" he asked.

Bobby winced. "You might want to wait on that story," he suggested, but both Dean and Cas insisted on having it now.

Dean was positively growling by the end. "Well, damn, I don't know why I don't trust Balthazar, Bobby. I mean, they've been out all day, and they've only been attacked by two monsters that I've never heard of. Besides, they only ran into them because they were running from a ton of monsters that have personal vendettas against us. You know, you're right! We should hire Balthazar to babysit my baby brother every single day!"

"Don't you use sarcasm on me, boy," Bobby growled back. "The point is that Balthazar has kept Sam safe and happy all day long, and he got to get out of here. Now, I understand that you don't like the idea of your brother in danger, but that's just your life. I'd rather have Sam be out having fun with an angel to protect him than stuck in here with a couple of books and an old hunter."

Dean sighed. "But out there, he's attracting more attention. What if there are some creatures that aren't attacking him because they don't know what's going on, but now that they know, they'll just keep coming nonstop?"

"Then it'll be better to have him constantly on the move," Bobby answered smoothly.

Dean sighed. "Cas? What do you think?" he asked, running his hand over his face.

When there was no answer, he looked up in alarm to find that the angel has disappeared (again) at some point.

"Dammit, Cas, I know there's a war in heaven, and I get that you're protecting us, but can't you just stick around for one conversation? I wouldn't mind ganking some angels if it came to that!"

"Mr. Winchester, I'm appalled!" Balthazar answered in a subdued tone, teleporting in next to the bed and depositing a sleeping child on top of the blankets.

Dean struggled for a moment between blowing up at Balthazar and letting his brother sleep, but Sam won out, of course.

He was about to ask Balthazar to step outside with him when he realized that Sam was going to get cold, so he stepped over and began to tuck the little guy into bed.

"Why were you so late?" ended up being the only question he really felt like asking.

Balthazar shrugged. "Yeah, sorry about that. We were in a different time zone watching a Japanese production of Peter Pan, and when I realized what time it was over here, I couldn't drag him away. It was so close to the end! So we stayed for the end of the play, although he did fall asleep anyway so I could have brought him back, I guess."

Dean nodded quietly. "Thank you for taking care of him, Balthazar," he said seriously, holding out his hand. They both knew that there was a blanket apology mixed in with the statement, and Balthazar accepted gravely.

"Now, can we eat?" he asked. "Sam was only interested in hot dogs and cotton candy, and if I have to pretend to eat another bit of fake food, I think I'm going to throw up!"

"Angels don't," Dean started, then gave up.

"Oh, don't impose your standards of angelic habits onto me! We can't all be trench coat wearing, badass warriors."

"Shut up," Dean tossed back.

Balthazar rolled his eyes.

Bobby watched them interact and shook his head fondly. "Idjits."


	9. Learning to Fly

"Alright, Samsquatch, where to?" Balthazar asked the seven year old after Dean had left.

"Balty, why'd you call me that?" Sammy asked, screwing his face up in confusion.

Balthazar laughed sadly. "I learned it from a friend a long time ago," he explained, much more subdued than usual.

"Did your friend know me a long time ago?" Sammy asked, still confused.

Balthazar sighed and knelt down next to Sammy, ignoring Bobby's warning glances. "A long time ago, Sammy, there was an angel named Gabriel. He was a very special angel called an archangel, but one day, he ran away and became a trickster."

"Why?" Sammy interrupted.

Balthazar smiled. "Because he didn't like fighting. He liked candy." Sammy giggled. "Gabriel was a trickster for a long time, but his vessel was very short."

"What's a vessel?" Sammy asked curiously.

"Well, humans can't see an angel's true form," Balthazar began patiently.

"What's 'humans'?" Sammy interrupted.

Balthazar laughed and poked Sammy's chest. "You're humans, Squirt!"

Sammy's jaw dropped, and he ran toward the table. "Uncle Bobby, is I humans?" he asked.

"Am I," Bobby corrected. "Yes, Sammy, you are a human."

"Am Dean a human?" Sammy asked earnestly.

"Is Dean," Bobby answered with a slight smile, "and yes, he is."

Sammy cocked his head but then seemed to accept it. He ran back to Balthazar. "Is this a vessel?" He poked Balthazar in the chest.

"Well, Sammy," Balthazar settled back on the floor, "I never did think that humans were beautiful enough for an angel to inhab- like in. I would have preferred to be a unicorn with a rainbow tail," he admitted, ignoring Bobby's muttered cough, "but my Father told me to at least look like a human. What is it?" he asked, realizing that Sammy was about to burst.

"What's 'gay'?" Sammy asked, looking between Bobby and Balthazar.

"It's when a boy really, really likes another boy," Balthazar answered, glowering at the culprit (who hid behind his books).

"Like when Dean kissed Cas?" Sammy asked.

Balthazar snorted, but Bobby's head shot up. "Say what now, boy?"

Sammy sighed and gestured wildly. "I was 'sleep, then Dean was crying, then Cas came, then Dean kept crying, so Cas hugged him. Then Cas got really, really still, and then Dean yelled, but Cas stayed really still, then Dean kissed Cas right on the mouth, and then I thought it was really yucky so I hided."

Bobby blinked slowly. "So Dean kissed Cas to bring him out of shock? That idjit! Did he at least admit why?" he asked Balthazar, who shook his head.

"They're both pretending it never happened," he explained. "Now, do you want to hear about Gabriel?"

"Yeah!" Sammy jumped enthusiastically.

Balthazar reached out and pulled Sammy onto his lap. "One day, when he was being a trickster, Gabriel met a man named Samuel. Samuel was very tall, and he was a very special man called a hunter. Hunters make sure that people like tricksters don't do bad things," he summed up, again ignoring Bobby. "Gabriel was being bad, but Samuel made his stop."

"But why did he call him Samscotch?" Sammy asked.

Balthazar grinned a snapped his fingers, flying them to a forest. "Hey there, Jake," he greeted the outdoorsy man stepping out of a trailer. "This here is Sammy," he made the introductions. "Sammy wants to hear all about the Sasquatch you're hunting."

This was a Christmas present for both the outlandish adventurer and the inquisitive young learner. While they talked, Balthazar slowly touched up some Enochian warding sigils and prepared an elaborate memory charm, but when he finished, their conversation was far from over.

He sighed and wandered outside the wards, daring something to come at Sammy. It had been a stressful week, and the angel needed something to kill.

"Hello, boy," greeted the demon, appearing as if on cue.

Balthazar groaned. "I asked for a monster, not a douchebag!"

Crowley gasped in mock offense. "I should make you take that back!"

"And I should smite you, you reprehensible salesman, but we can't always get what we want, can we? Why are you here?"

Crowley sighed. "I didn't realize that our little-"

"Shut up!" Balthazar interrupted sharply.

Crowley shrugged. "Have it your way! Regardless, I don't think that I can stand the idea of being associated with someone who would kneel in front of a Winchester."

Balthazar froze. "What are you talking about? Me? Kneel? Are you daft?"

"You tell me. But anyway, you know where to find me. Or, rather, how to find me. I think your little charge should be finishing story time by now. And before you ask," the demon turned back around with his most charming smile and spread his arms, "I know everything."

Balthazar shook his head at the cloud of smoke. "Theatrics." With a swish of his hand, he reappeared next to Sammy. "So, what do you think, Samsquatch?" he asked, ruffling Sammy's hair.

Sammy looked up with a grin. "But I'm little, Balty! And I'm not all hairy!"

"Really? Then what's this?" he asked, lifting a long blonde lock. "Maybe we should get it cut, huh? How does a barber shop stop sound?"

"No!" Sammy squealed, running (in circles, thanks to Balthazar's hand on his head).

"Thanks for the story," the angel called to Jake, spiriting the two of them away and wiping Sammy from Jake's memory.

"Balty, where are we?" Sammy asked excitedly, bouncing on his toes.

"This is a laser tag...place," Balthazar read off a tag. "Go, have fun, shoot people, make good choices!" Sammy was already gone, but he called out, "Use protection!"

***SPN***

Dean shrugged off the last piece of his costume and grinned at Tyler. "Hey, first day back! How'd it go?"

Tyler grinned back. "I'm not going to lie, this is the best job! I mean, the kids love me, and it's all so rewarding! I mean, do you know the look on a little kid's face when they finally meet their hero? The guy who takes away all their monsters?"

Dean sighed and stretched his back a bit. "You don't see that, really, when you are the monster," he admitted.

Tyler nodded. "This must be different for you, being the bad guy, not getting the attention and praise."

"Okay, what exactly did Samuel teach you?" Dean asked incredulously.

"He said it's a hard life but his family's the best, and people know who they are," Tyler answered. "I mean, they must be, what with the whole big deal about-"

"Has he taught you anything about how to hunt?" Dean interrupted. "You know what, come by my motel after about 8:30 and my old man and I will help you out."

"Your old man?" Tyler questioned.

"I'll explain later. The dick angel probably brought my brother back by now, so I gotta go. See you later?"

"Yeah, man, whatever," Tyler agreed.

***SPN***

"Dean!" the energetic kid propelled himself across the room and launched himself at his brother.

"Hey, Sammy," Dean chuckled, holding the little guy close. "What did you do all day? Did you watch Peter Pan?"

"No," Sammy giggled. "Balty taked me to laser tag and the library and I learned all about a Sasquatch! Did you ever meet Gabriel, Dean? He was a super awesome angel! Balty says he met a hunter named Samuel and he called him Samsquatch. Did you know Samuel? Was he as tall as you? Did he have a lot of hair? Balty says hunters make people play nice, Dean, can I be a hunter? Oh! Maybe I want to be a vessel! Balty! Balty! If I be'd a vessel, would I be good enough for you? Can we always go see Jake?" Sammy didn't look like he had any intentions of stopping, and Dean looked at Balthazar over his head.

"Believe me," the angel shrugged, "if I'd known he'd be so talkative afterward, I wouldn't have taken him to the library!"

"Sammy." Dean efficiently stopped the prattle. "Did you eat dinner yet?"

Sammy shook his head. "We're waiting for you!" he explained. "Balty too! We're gonna have hot dogs and ice cream!"

"Together?" Dean was only half playing.

"No!" Sammy yelled between giggles. "We're eating hot dogs now and then we'll get ice cream! Balty's bringing it special! Can Cas come? Does Cas like ice cream? Where is Cas, Dean?"

"Uh, I don't know, Sammy," Dean rubbed the back of his neck and stood up.

Sammy tugged on the end of his jacket. "Dean?"

"What, Sammy?"

"Don't you like Cas?"

Dean groaned, ignoring the teasing adults. "Of course I like Cas, Sammy. Why?"

"Because," Sammy stated innocently, as if that summed everything up.

"Because what, Sammy?" Dean prompted.

"You don't know where he is, even after you kissed him!"

Dean promptly choked. "Sammy," he gasped much to the amusement of Bobby and Balthazar.

"Dean? Are you okay? Dean! Dean, stop coughing!" Sammy patted Dean's back anxiously.

"I'm fine, Sammy," Dean choked out. "Let's get some, uh, hot dogs and ice cream."

"Yay!" Sammy crowed.

Dean rolled his eyes and pointedly did not look at Bobby, worried about what he might see in the hunter's expression. "Oh, Samuel isn't teaching Tyler crap, so I invited him to come over tonight."

"Alright," Bobby agreed, "but don't go kissing him too. I'd like some of our visitors to come back!"

"Shut up," Dean growled.

Balthazar laughed uproariously. "What do you say, Sammy? Is it dinner time now? He caught the energized seven year old and tickled him mercilessly while Bobby laughed at Dean.

All in all, it was a very confusing scene that Cas popped into.

"Brother?" The room got quiet, and three heads turned to look at the curious angel. Sammy chose to take this chance to escape, and he bolted for the door.

"Hey, Cas," Dean tried to greet the angel casually, knowing that Balthazar was doing something ridiculous behind him. "What's up?"

Cas pointedly ignored Dean and focused on Balthazar instead. "I don't understand. If the object of our presence here is to ease Sam's transformation, why would you torture him?"

Balthazar laughed lightly. "Torture, Cas? Tickling isn't torture! It's more," he trailed off, as if looking for the right word. "Oh, it's hard to explain, but I'm sure Dean would be more than happy to show you." He gave an exaggerated wink that was totally lost on his little brother.

Cas frowned for a moment, then looked around. "Where is Sam? It's almost time."

Balthazar froze and slowly turned in a circle. "Dean?" he asked.

"Sammy!" Dean hollered. Silence. "Balthazar? Where's my brother?" he asked.

Balthazar winced. "I don't know, but he's in pain. It's starting."

"Then find him!" Dean snapped.

"Dean," Castiel interrupted tensely, "he can't. I hid both you and your brother from all supernatural beings."

"Why would you do that?" Dean groaned. "Where the hell is my brother?"

"Dean!" Cas answered, "I just told you-"

"I know what you said!" Dean yelled.

"I'm an angel of the lord, you will not yell at me!" Cas yelled back.

"I'll yell at whoever the fuck I want to, don't tell me what to do!"

"I raised you and your brother from perdition! You will respect me!"

"Bullshit! You lost my brother, you don't deserve respect!"

"Both of you," Balthazar cut in, placing a hand on each of their chests. "Shut up!"

For a moment, Dean and Cas glared and huffed at each other, then Dean broke and turned to Balthazar. "Where's my brother?" he asked, and obvious waver in his voice.

Balthazar moved his hand to Dean's shoulder. "He has my grace. I traced it while you two aired your feelings. Sammy's asleep on the bed behind me. Now, are we good here?" He looked between Dean and Cas. Both nodded. "Hug it out, then," Balthazar instructed, shoving the two together.

Dean awkwardly wrapped his arms around the angel and resisted the urge to melt into the embrace. The whole fiasco must have worn him out more than he realized. He dropped his head onto Cas's shoulder briefly. "I'm sorry I yelled," he muttered. He felt the angel nod.

"So am I."

There was a flutter of wings, and Dean found himself alone beside Sammy's bed. He stroked Sammy's hair tenderly, ingnoring the pain and betrayal that he hadn't asked to feel, and focusing on his baby brother's peaceful expression instead.

"Thank you, Balthazar," he murmured.

"You can't wake him till it's over," Balthazar assured him, speaking in a normal tone. "Don't bother whispering."

"I've been yelling all day. Whispering is fine for now," Dean answered.

"How do you not have a migraine?" Balthazar asked.

Dean frowned. "I did."

"And now you don't?" Bobby asked.

"I guess Cassie came through, eh?" Balthazar teased. "Even when you're fighting, he can't stand you being in pain! How sweet."

Dean turned around deliberately. "Can we not have a chick flick moment while my baby brother is undergoing a potentially excruciating process? I dont need any angel's concentration slipping."

Balthazar snorted. "I'm not the one wondering if Castiel's wings are as soft as Sammy's hair," he threw back.

Dean narrowed his eyes wordlessly, although the tell-tale blush on his face gave him away.

"For Christ's sake, boy!" Bobby huffed. Dean stiffened and stalked toward the door.

"Come get me when he wakes up," he called as the door swung shut behind him. He listened for the click of the lock before slumping against the wall and dropping his head into his hands.

"Cas?" he asked, cursing the break in his voice.

The angel appeared immediately. "Dean? Are you alright?"

Wet green eyes met worried blue ones. "We need to talk, man."

* * *

_So sorry that I didn't post this sooner. It's been written (on paper) for a week now, but due to unforeseen circumstances, I couldn't get to the Internet. I still don't have my laptop (frowny face), but I managed to type this whole thing up on my phone, so I apologize for any strange autocorrect instances. _

_Now for the fun part! _

_**What happens next? Leave a review with the right answer, and I will PM you a sneak peek of the next chapter! I already have the first scene written, and reviews would really encourage me to finish it faster!**_

_Hmmm... My "Represent" shirt came in today, so I'm in a good mood!_

_**If you guess incorrectly, I'll PM you a crack style scene featuring your review (although it might take a little longer)**._

_Love and hugs (and chocolate, of course)_

_-Hailee_


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